Kenya woos private investors to build toll roads

Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-17 20:49:01|Editor: Zhou Xin
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NAIROBI, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Kenya is seeking domestic and foreign investors to build toll roads in order to ease congestion on the major highways, the country's highway agency said on Thursday.

Kenya National Highways Authority Director General Peter Mundinia told Xinhua in Nairobi that the government plans to use the Public Private Partnership (PPP) framework to mobilize funds to roll out toll roads.

"As a government, we have decided to enlist the help of the private sector as public resources are not sufficient to build highways fast enough," Mundinia said.

He noted that a feasibility study indicates that the private sector can help bridge the road infrastructure funding gap due to the attractive returns in the road toll sector.

The highway agency said that a number of developed nations have used toll roads to build and maintain their road networks and so the concept is likely to succeed in Kenya.

Mundinia noted that when the toll roads are operational, users will be charged to use roads so that investors can recoup their investments.

The highways to be converted into toll roads include the Nairobi-Mombasa road as well as the Nairobi-Nakuru road.

KeNHA said that they have already identified contractors to convert the highways into a dual carriageways so that they can become toll roads.

The Director General said that a policy to guide the toll roads will soon be approved by the Cabinet. "We expect the first toll roads to be operational by the end of 2020," he added.

Mundinia said that by tapping into private sector funding Kenya will be able to expand its roads network immediately.

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