Ruto's big gift to Western: Major highway works set to kicks off

President William Ruto during a past ground breaking event./PCS

Preparations are in top gear for President William Ruto’s grand launch of the Rironi-Mau Summit dual carriageway construction on Friday, in what would be a transport game changer for Western Kenya.

The major road works come at a time when the commencement for the construction of the Standard Gauge Railway line to Malaba from Naivasha has also been scheduled for February.

The two legacy projects could increase Ruto's vote-hunting stakes, especially in Nyanza and Western, two regions that have consistently decried marginalisation. 

The road's route cuts through many critical vote-rich regions, including the President's Rift Valley stronghold, with portions traversing Kiambu and Nyandarua and Nakuru counties.

Kenya National Highways Authority officials spent much of Wednesday preparing a site in Gilgil for the groundbreaking of the Rironi-Mau Summit project.

With the 2027 elections looming, the Sh180 billion project with 4-6-lanes is likely to shape the political dynamics.

Tentative designs show that the expressway will feature eight toll stations along the route, with motorists set to pay Sh8 per kilometre.

It would also be fitted with 15 interchanges, eight footbridges, 25km of service lanes, eight wildlife crossings, 41 U-turns, 41 underpasses and 118 bus bays.

The launch brings to fruition the President’s promise to open up the major link to the Western region, a critical voting bloc.

The road is also a major artery connecting the Mombasa port to key destinations in the EAC common market, including Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and DRC.

Its Western Kenya destination represents a key constituency the President is aggressively courting as he prepares to defend his seat in 2027.

Political observers have termed the project a political lifeline for Ruto, offering a chance to seal his administration's legacy and shore up public confidence.

The Kenya Kwanza administration is in its second half of the term, and the project is viewed as one that stands to make or break Ruto's re-election bid.

Teso South MP Mary Emase said the President has demonstrated that he not only says things but also delivers them in a timely manner.

“The expansion of the highway is long overdue and could not have come at a better time than now," she said, capturing the political significance of the project's timing.

Ainabkoi MP Samuel Chepkonga said, "We have been sleeping on this road when there is a traffic mishap, yet 60 per cent of Kenyans use it. We are elated at the plans."

Movement for Defence of Democracy leader Victor Marende said the project would see “Nyanza, Western, and Rift Valley vote for Ruto in a way that pleases God.

“It’d mark an important step into opening up Western Kenya after decades of suffering. Our taxes can eventually start making sense after years of neglect,” he said.

Kenya Kwanza has framed the project's launch as evidence of Ruto's ability to deliver where predecessors failed.

Previous administrations, including Uhuru Kenyatta's, saw such bids mired in procurement issues, financing debates, and political disagreements.

President Ruto told top officials of the China Communications Construction Company that the project is of immense economic benefits.

“This will herald a major milestone for this critical part of the Northern Corridor between Nairobi and Western Kenya, facilitating movement and boosting trade,” he said.

Two Chinese firms, namely China Road and Bridges Corporation, in a consortium with NSSF, and Shandong Hi Speed Road and Bridge International Engineering Co Ltd, are to deliver the project.

They will work under an innovative split arrangement necessitated by China’s strict investment caps.

The arrangement has been hailed as a compromise that maintains Chinese involvement while accelerating the project timeline within the election cycle.

“The successful implementation of this project will outdo the Uhuru Kenyatta and Mwai Kibaki legacies,” political commentator Javas Bigambo observed.

Negotiations with the two firms progressed successfully on Tuesday, paving the way for the launch and maintaining the political momentum. 

In a tweet, Treasury PS Chris Kiptoo said the PPP committee granted the final approval for the highway implementation.

“This paves the way for the groundbreaking ceremony to be presided over by President Ruto on November 28,” the PS said.

“This will ease travel along one of our busiest corridors, unlocking new economic opportunities for our people.”

For Ruto, the project is not just an infrastructure masterpiece but also a gift to the people of Western, who are highly expectant of its delivery.

“We have to think outside the box if we are to deliver and satisfy the requirements for infrastructure in Kenya,” Ruto said recently.

He disclosed that plans were at an advanced stage to realise the extension to the Malaba and Busia borders.

On the extension to Malaba, Kenya formally requested the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to finance the feasibility study of the route.

AIIB’s top organ on Tuesday approved a Sh408 million ($3.15 million) grant to help with the preparatory works.

The upgrade of the 243km stretch from Mau Summit is aimed at boosting transport and trade between the interior areas of East Africa and the port of Mombasa.

It was approved by the Multilateral Cooperation Centre for Development Finance governing committee in Beijing.

The grant will finance a feasibility study for the public-private partnership project billed as improving the road access to Mombasa via Nairobi.

It is a critical link to neighbouring Uganda, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, northwestern Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi.

“The feasibility study will assess the project’s technical viability, resilience to climate and engineering risks, environmental and social safeguards, and tolling affordability,” a brief by MCDF reads.

The Mau Summit-Malaba dual carriageway, if approved, would be AIIB’s first standalone investment in Kenya and first PPP project in Africa.

The overall vision is to deliver a road that can reduce accidents, ease traffic congestion, minimise truck idling and carbon emissions, and facilitate trade.

It is envisioned as one that would lower transport time and cost along the Mau Summit-Malaba route, which is part of the Trans-African Highway Network.

For the Rironi project, the alternative split-corridor proposals provide that CRBC+NSSF will build 81km of the road until Gilgil and the branch line of 58km through Mai Mahiu.

SDRBI will construct the remaining 94km from Gilgil to Mau Summit in the contract being negotiated by KeNHA, National Treasury, and the firms.

But Ruto’s critics have billed the project’s financing arrangement as expensive and one that would burden Kenyans.

Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro said much as the road deserves to be dualled, it wouldn’t serve the economy if the road is packaged as a business model.

“When we institute tolling, we are basically increasing the cost of doing business. Motorists, besides the fuel levy, will be paying an extra coin for tolls,” the MP said.

He argued that the main investor in the project would be NSSF – workers' money - saying it is public money facilitating the ventures.

Even so, the government has maintained that the financing model is the most suitable considering the tough economic realities.

President Ruto has also announced that groundbreaking for the Standard Gauge Railway line to Malaba from Naivasha will be held in February.

The project's launch comes amid Ruto's unveiling of an even broader Sh5 trillion development blueprint to transform Kenya into a first-world nation.

INSTANT ANALYSIS

The timing of this massive infrastructure push has not been lost on political observers. With the 2027 election cycle approaching, these highly visible projects resonate with key voter concerns about job creation and economic development. The administration has framed these initiatives as evidence of Ruto's commitment to transformative development, with the President urging Kenya to "choose ambition over fear" and emulate the rapid progress of Asian economic tigers.