Ruto unveils fresh plan to dual Nairobi-Mombasa highway

President William Ruto speaks during an event in Mombasa on November 13,2026/PCS‎President William Ruto has announced plans to upgrade the Nairobi-Mombasa Highway to a dual carriageway, promising that the long-awaited project will be undertaken within the next year.

‎The President said the government was determined to expand the country’s busiest transport corridor to ease congestion, improve road safety and facilitate the movement of goods between the Port of Mombasa and the hinterland.

‎Speaking in Mombasa at the close of the Kenya Comprehensive School Heads Association (KECSHA) National Annual General Meeting and Conference, Ruto said the government would soon unveil details of the project.

‎”We are going to dual the road from Mombasa to Nairobi. We must do it, and we are going to do it within the next one year,” he said.

‎The President urged Kenyans to be patient, saying the government was working on arrangements to deliver the ambitious infrastructure project.

‎”So relax, tutapangana na nyinyi. That’s how to transform a nation, my friends. That’s how a nation is transformed,” he added.

‎The announcement signals a fresh push to expand the approximately 461-kilometre highway linking Nairobi to Mombasa, which serves as a critical trade route connecting the country’s capital to its largest seaport.

‎The road carries thousands of vehicles daily, including long-distance trucks transporting imports and exports, passenger buses and private motorists.

‎Its expansion is expected to address persistent congestion and reduce the risk of head-on collisions associated with overtaking on the existing two-lane highway.

‎The latest announcement comes after the government abandoned an earlier proposal by American investor Everstrong Capital to construct a new Nairobi-Mombasa expressway under the Usahihi project.

‎The privately initiated proposal, estimated at Sh468 billion, involved building a separate 459-kilometre, four-lane highway from Mlolongo in Machakos county to Bonje in Mombasa county.

‎The project was designed under a public-private partnership (PPP) arrangement, with the investor expected to finance, construct, operate and maintain the road before transferring it to the government.

‎However, the National Treasury’s PPP Committee rejected the proposal in July 2025, citing shortcomings in its financial structure, technical capacity and overall viability. The decision was subsequently upheld by a tribunal in April 2026.

‎The government has since shifted its focus to expanding the existing Nairobi-Mombasa highway rather than constructing an entirely new road.

‎A report by the Treasury’s PPP Directorate indicated that the redesigned project would increase the capacity of the existing A8 highway from two lanes to at least four lanes and convert it into an access-controlled toll road.

‎The government has also been pursuing a transaction adviser to assess the engineering requirements, financing model and procurement arrangements for the project.

‎The new approach is expected to reduce the costs and complications associated with acquiring land for an entirely new highway.

‎Ruto’s announcement comes amid renewed attention on the safety of the highway following a series of fatal road crashes that have claimed dozens of lives.

‎The President did not disclose the estimated cost of the latest project, the financing arrangements or the specific sections that will be dualled first.

‎He, however, expressed confidence that the government would find a way to deliver the project as part of its wider infrastructure transformation agenda.

The dualling of the Muthaiga–Kiambu–Ndumberi road will improve mobility between Nairobi and Kiambu

Mutula urges the national government to speed up the long-delayed project and calls on KeNHA to improve road safety at Salama following a crash that killed 17 C