President Ruto Sets Date for Ksh.170 Billion Rironi-Mau Summit Expressway Dualing

Travel time from Nairobi to Western Kenya will be narrowed by roughly 1.5 hours following President William Ruto’s announcement of the dualling of the Rironi-Naivasha-Mau Summit expressway.

The 170 kilometre highway construction is expected to begin late in November, setting the stage for a number of mega projects the president announced when he took office in 2022.

On his X platform, Ruto said the northern corridor would boost trade and bring to a close the ever traffic gridlock that has been experienced since independence between the capital and Western Kenya.

“This will herald a major milestone for this critical part of the Northern Corridor between Nairobi and Western Kenya, facilitating movement and boosting trade and, at the same time, bringing an end to decades of agonising traffic gridlock, congestion, delays, and disastrous accidents,” said President Ruto.

The 170km Rironi-Naivasha-Mau Summit road dualling is set for November 28, 2025, the similar date the head of state will break ground for the 58km dualling of the Rironi-Maai Mahiu-Naivasha road.

The mega project will be overseen by Kenya’s long-standing partner in infrastructure development, China.

The estimated cost to construct the 170km Rironi-Mau Summit road is Ksh.170 billion, the current estimate for the project, which will be a four-lane dual carriageway.

Also Read: Ruto to decide when Nairobi-Mau Highway will start as financiers await his nod

It will cost Ksh1,360 for a single trip on the expressway, calculated at the announced rate of Ksh.8 per kilometer.

This is based on the 170 km distance and the Ksh8 per km toll for passenger cars, as stated by the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA).

Since 2013, China has overseen construction on multibillion shillinghighways and expressways, among them Thika Superhighway.

According to the President, the 170km road will be constructed by the China Communications Construction Company.

It is a subsidiary of China Roads and Bridges Corporation (CRBC) chaired by its president  President Zhang Bingman.

Mr Bingman met President Ruto at the Statehouse, Nairobi, where they formalized paperwork the dualling of the road.

“Infrastructure development in our country has made a huge leap forward courtesy of the strong and deep relations between Kenya and China, and Chinese companies.”

China is also at the centre of several ongoing projects in the country, including the Talanta Sports City, 21 other stadia, the Bomas Convention Centre, and the Lamu-Ijara-Garissa road.

There is without doubt that Chinese will also oversee the extension of the railway to Kisumu and Malaba and the construction of Galana Dam in Tana River County.