Nairobi-Thika highway project draws to a close

Date: 3/5/2012

The Nairobi-Thika highway will be taken over by Kenyan authorities next month.

Worth Sh27billion (£199 million), the 42km route is currently being constructed by three Chinese engineering firms - China Wu-Yi, SinoHydro and Shengli-Li, the Star reports.

They will hand it over to the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) in June, although the companies will still return to the site and correct any defects created during construction.

The project was due for completion in December 2011, but it was delayed due to the unscheduled relocation of utility lines, water and electricity away from the road.

Director-General of KeNHA Meshack Kidenda explained the Chinese firms now have to install road signs and finish painting work on the route.

"Signs are usually the last thing. If we were doing the road in the (rural areas), we don't open it until everything is in place," he added.

Earlier this year, the Kenyan government commissioned work to improve the Nyamasaria-Kisumu-Kisian road, while the 37km Ejinja-Bumala route is also to be upgraded into a two-lane single carriageway.

Posted by Nick Anderson