Nairobi News

Nairobi residents will now have easy access to the Central Business District (CBD) as the government’s on Saturday opened a new exit plaza at Greenpark, which will have five toll lanes.

Roads and Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen lauded the construction, which started in late July 2023.

He described the Nairobi Expressway as a shining monument of what public-private partnerships can achieve.

“We are pleased to announce that the trial operation of the newly completed Nairobi Expressway Haile Selassie Exit Plaza has commenced on January 20, 2024,” he said.

“There are also plans to add two more lanes, from the current three, at the Museum Hill exit. The Nairobi Expressway is a shining monument to what private-public partnerships can do,” he said.

He revealed that at the Museum Hill exit, which currently has only three lanes, plans are underway to add two more lanes.

“Negotiations with the University of Nairobi for land acquisition are ongoing,” he said.

He added that in addition to the many socio-economic benefits it has brought to the country, the Nairobi Expressway is also facilitating technology transfer to Kenya.

“Its intelligent traffic monitoring system, with a 360-degree view of the entire road, has improved safety and emergency response. It will be a good benchmark for the Intelligent Traffic System (ITS) that we have piloted and are now ready to roll out,” said the CS.

“Thanks to the success of the expressway, we are now receiving increasing demand for similar projects. We are therefore considering dualling the Rironi-Mau Summit road and possibly to Eldoret under the PPP. The Nairobi-Mombasa and Athi-River-Namanga highways and the Kiambu road are also potential candidates for tolling’.”

The Haile Selassie Exit Plaza has five lanes which are meant to help ease traffic congestion between Capital and Haile Selassie Roundabout.

The new Expressway exit plaza offers smooth access to Nairobi CBD, Upper Hill, and Ngong Road.

CS Murkomen had in December 2023 given assurance that the new Expressway exit would be ready by mid-January.

Mr Murkomen said the project with its five lanes will reduce congestion and improve traffic flow within the city.

Murkomen praised the project saying it has reduced travel time from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to Nairobi from two hours to 20 minutes at zero cost to taxpayers.

“The expressway employed 6,000 Kenyans during its construction, it now has 500 people employed permanently,” he said.

Murkomen said 200,000 subscribers have enrolled in the e-ticketing system in the past 19 months.

He said the road has carried 26 million vehicles, which is proof that it has demand.

“Besides the many socioeconomic benefits it has brought to our country, the Nairobi Expressway has facilitated the transfer of technology to Kenya,” Murkomen said.

“Its smart traffic monitoring system, with a 360-degree view of the whole road, has enhanced security and emergency response. It will provide a good benchmark for the Intelligent Traffic System we have piloted and is ready for roll-out,” he said.

Murkomen said the success of the project has seen an increase in demand for similar projects.

“We are therefore considering the dualling of the Rironi-Mau Summit road, which will begin next year,” he said.

A long-term plan to develop roads across the country is currently underway.

The Chinese-built Nairobi Expressway stretches from the western side of the city to the south-eastern edge of the metropolis and reportedly carries an average of 50,000 vehicles per day.

The Sh87 billion, 27.1-kilometre road was financed and built by the China Road and Bridge Corporation under a public-private partnership model.

The Nairobi Expressway has 10 interchanges and includes the SGR terminus at JKIA, Eastern Bypass, Southern Bypass and Enterprise Road.

It was launched by former President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2022 to ease traffic congestion on Mombasa Road and improve mobility in the city.

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