President William Ruto has announced that work will finally begin next week on transforming one of Kenya’s most notorious highways into a modern dual carriageway, ending decades of fatal accidents and chronic gridlock on the vital trade artery to Uganda and beyond.
From 28 November, China Road and Bridge Corporation, in partnership with the National Social Security Fund Board of Trustees, will start dualling the 170km stretch from Rironi through Naivasha to Mau Summit.
The same consortium will also rebuild the perilous 58km Rironi-Maai Mahiu-Naivasha escarpment section, known locally as A8 South.
Ruto hailed the projects as a milestone for the Northern Corridor, promising smoother movement of goods and an end to the carnage that claims hundreds of lives annually.
“This road has been a graveyard for far too long,” he wrote on X after meeting executives from parent company China Communications Construction Company.
The deals were secured through privately initiated proposals under a public-private partnership model. Motorists will pay tolls to use the new highway, though the Kenya National Highways Authority insists a free alternative route will remain available.
China’s footprint in Kenyan infrastructure continues to grow. The same state-owned giant behind the Standard Gauge Railway and Nairobi Expressway is already building the Talanta Sports City stadium and has been awarded other flagship projects including stadiums across the country and the delayed Lamu-Ijara-Garissa road.
With the Northern Corridor handling more than eighty percent of Uganda’s imports and serving as a lifeline for South Sudan, DR Congo and Rwanda, the upgrade is seen as critical for regional trade.
