The main feasibility study for the planned 243-kilometer dual toll Mau Summit-Malaba highway will kick off within the first quarter of the 2026/27 financial year, the public-private-partnership (PPP) directorate of the National Treasury has said.
‘The pre-feasibility study commenced in November 2025 and was completed in May 2026. Feasibility study to commence in quarter one of the financial year 2026/2027,’ the directorate said.
The project comprises upgrading the 243-kilometer Mau Summit-Malaba highway, converting it into an access-controlled tolled road and expanding its capacity from 2 lanes to 4 lanes. The strategic transport route is part of the Northern Corridor connecting western Kenya and Uganda and will complement the upstream Nairobi-Mau Summit highway already under construction.
‘The highway is also one of 9 roads that constitute the Trans-African Highway Network, a continental development policy coordinated by the African Union,’ the directorate said.
A consortium of Canadian and Kenyan firms conducted the pre-feasibility studies to expand the Mau Summit-Eldoret-Malaba highway under the PPP model. The study was funded by the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). CPCS of Canada and Kenya’s Avatech Engineering undertook the pre-study that will anchor the cost of the project and toll fees to be charged by the investors who will fund the project.
The project will join the Sh170 billion Rironi-Mau Summit dual highway, marking a departure from the earlier plan, which was to extend it on the Kisumu-Busia-Malaba side. China Road and Bridge Corporation and the National Social Security Fund have already started work on the 236-kilometre section from Rironi through Nakuru to Mau Summit.
The Mau Summit-Eldoret-Malaba section, which is part of the Northern Corridor, currently experiences heavy traffic and is prone to accidents.
The government had earlier said that the dual carriageway would be extended to Malaba through Kisumu and Busia. It had remained mum on the Mau Summit-Eldoret-Malaba section.
The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) had earlier disclosed that 24 percent of the Northern Corridor roads were in deplorable condition by 2018, forcing transporters to endure over 100 hours moving from Mombasa to Malaba, against the targeted 78 hours.
Besides the existing 27-kilometre Nairobi Expressway, KeNHA plans to construct more expressways on key transport corridors to ease the rising traffic congestion and spur both local and foreign investment.
Expressways are typically high-capacity roads designed to allow vehicles to travel quickly and efficiently over long distances with minimal interruptions. They are built to handle large volumes of traffic at relatively high speeds compared to ordinary roads and often involve tolls.
‘Major road corridors, including the Northern Corridor and routes connecting Nairobi to Central and Eastern Kenya, are increasingly congested, impeding efficient movement,’ KeNHA said in a disclosure.
‘The government recognises the significant impact that inadequate infrastructure has on economic growth and poverty reduction. It has already begun to observe how infrastructure bottlenecks are hindering both foreign and domestic investment,’ the agency added.