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Funding hitch delays Kenol, Ahero road projects
Monday January 22 2024
Road construction machines deployed along the Kenol-Marua highway at Mahiga springs in Nyeri County on November 17, 2022. PHOTO | JOSEPH KANYI | NMG
Delays by the National Treasury to compensate project-affected persons and contractors in two major road projects funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB) is slowing down their progress, risking a potential time and cost overruns, the bank has warned.
In the latest implementation progress reports for the two projects, the continental lender said a continued delay by the government to disburse payments to people whose lands and property are affected by the projects and contractors could cause the projects to overstretch their planned schedule and budgets.
Read: AfDB to limit Kenya’s infrastructure funding to water, transport
The projects involve the dualling of the 84 kilometre-long Kenol-Sagana-Marua highway in Central and Eastern regions and the rehabilitation of the Isebania-Kisii-Ahero highway in the Lake region (Sirari Corridor project) and will cost a total of Sh90.4 billion.
“The delays in land acquisition for Right of Way have impacted the implementation of works in certain sections. This is also potentially impacting the cost of the works,” AfDB said in the implementation progress report for the Kenol road project.
The Kenol highway project was scheduled for completion by December 2024, but only 25 kilometres, about 30 percent of the road, has so far been fully completed and handed over.
As of December 2023, 84 percent of the road had been constructed and 95 percent of the required trees planted, but other aspects of the project, which include construction of complementary social facilities like a hospital trauma centre and bus parks, remain incomplete.
The first phase, which covered the 36-kilometre Kenol-Sagana highway, had been projected to end by July 2022, months ahead of the October 2023 deadline, but remains incomplete due to the delays in compensating affected people.
The Sirari corridor project also stalled at 95 percent completion rate in May last year, as the treasury has delayed disbursement of funds both to the contractor and to the project-affected persons (PAPs) for compensation and resettlement, which AfDB said is “unacceptable.”
“The Mission has advised KeNHA to prioritize and avail resources in a timely manner by liaising with the Ministry of Roads and Treasury to increase budgetary allocation for RAP compensation costs to the PAPs thereby able to secure Right of Way (RoW) as the currently provided allocations are insufficient given the current contractors’ rate of progress,” the lender noted in a progress report for the project.
Over 74 percent of the Sh90.4 billion for the two projects will be loaned by the AfDB through its infrastructure lending facility.
For the Sh45.2 billion Kenol project, the continental lender will loan Kenya Sh31.27 billion, while the China-backed Africa Growing Together Fund (AGTF) will contribute Sh5.43 billion and the government will cover the rest.
The Sirari Corridor project, which will also cost Sh45.2 billion, AfDB is contributing Sh36.8 billion, European Union (Sh1.8 billion) and the balance will be covered by the government.
Both road projects are crucial regional trade corridors in East Africa, and were projected to improve access to markets, create employment and help eradicate poverty by reducing transport costs and transit time along the important trade routes.
The Kenol-Sagana-Marua highway is part of the Trans-Africa highway that runs from Cairo in Egypt to Cape Town in South Africa.
It connects Nairobi to the central, upper eastern, and northern parts of Kenya, and is expected to “contribute to the country’s social and economic development efforts by providing a more efficient and effective transport system and to promote trade and regional integration,” AfDB said.
Read: Sh16.7bn Kenol-Marua road set to be completed in December
The Sirari corridor, which runs from Isebania in Kenya’s border with Tanzania, to Ahero in Kisumu County, is anticipated to “facilitate transport of goods and passengers traffic along the Tanzania-Kenya-South Sudan Corridor and to open up fresh produce markets in the Lake Victoria basin.”
