Uhuru to Travel to France to Ink Sh180 Billion Deal for Road Project

President Kenyatta is on Wednesday set to make his first foreign trip since the outbreak of Covid-19 in the country in March.

Daily Nation reports that Kenyatta will travel to France to ink a Sh180 billion public-private partnership (PPP) deal for the dualling of the Rironi-Nakuru-Mau Summit road.

Reports indicate Uhuru will hold a meeting with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace in Paris, where the two will witness the signing of several PPP agreements on water, infrastructure, and energy.

The contract for the construction of the 190-kilometer road was awarded to a consortium of French companies including Meridiam International, Vinci Highways SAS, and Vinci Concessions SA.

The project will see the highway expanded into a four-lane dual carriageway from Rironi to Mau Summit. It will also involve rehabilitation of the Mai Mahiu-Naivasha Road and the creation of toll stations on the highway.

Kenya National Highways Authority (KenHA) director-general Peter Mundinia said the contractor will be tasked with building and maintaining the road and recoup money from motorists in the form of toll fees.

The road is part of the Northern Corridor and will be the country’s first toll highway outside Nairobi. When complete, it is expected to reduce travel time for both people and goods, thus cutting the cost of doing business.

Uhuru’s visit to Kenya comes less than two years after President Macron visited Kenya in March last year with the two presiding over the signing of several agreements in railway, energy projects, plant health programs, and the Big Four Agenda on food security, universal health coverage, affordable housing, and manufacturing.