‘Don’t Toll Rironi-Mau Summit, Nairobi-Mombasa Roads!’ – MP Nyoro Tells Ruto
Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro is encouraging the government not to impose tolls on the extended Rironi-Mau Summit and Nairobi-Mombasa highways, claiming that Kenyans already pay enough taxes to maintain roads.
The government is converting the Rironi-Mau Summit Road into a dual carriageway via a public-private partnership (PPP).
The 170-kilometer highway will be upgraded to a four-lane dual carriageway, with six lanes in congested areas, at a cost of almost Sh90 billion.
Work began on July 1, 2025, with completion projected in July 2027.
Separately, construction on the 419-kilometre Nairobi-Mombasa Expressway was scheduled to begin in early 2026.
The Sh468 billion project, intended as a PPP with American firm Everstrong Capital Kenya, sought to lower travel expenses between Nairobi and Mombasa.
It was supposed to be a four-lane freeway. However, the National Treasury has canceled it.
On Tuesday, August 12, the Treasury announced that a PPP Committee meeting conducted on July 2, 2025, decided to abandon the plan.
According to an official warning, the project did not meet the requirements outlined in the PPP Act of 2021.
Instead, the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) will expand the current Nairobi-Mombasa route.
Responding to the two infrastructure projects, Nyoro stated that big road expansions are overdue but must be completed “in the most optimal way.”
He urged that they be government-funded and free to use once built.
“The expansion of Rironi–Mau Summit Rd (Nairobi–Nakuru–Mau Summit) should be done as a GoK-funded project and without tolling or requiring users to pay. The same should happen to Nairobi–Mombasa Highway,” he said.
The expansion of major roads in Kenya is long overdue. This however should be done in the most optimal way.
— Ndindi Nyoro (@NdindiNyoro) August 12, 2025
The expansion of Rironi – Mau Summit Rd (Nairobi – Nakuru – Mau Summit) should be done as a GoK funded project and without tolling or making users to pay. The same should… pic.twitter.com/j7XOJXOpX0
Nyoro claimed that Kenyans already pay several levies for road maintenance.
“It is not prudent to have a Kenyan who pays VAT, PAYE and other taxes, again pays fuel levy to maintain roads, then is made to pay toll to use a corridor highway that serves a huge section of our country,” he added.
Tolling, according to the MP, reduces economic efficiency and makes it more difficult to do business, particularly along major transportation routes.
His alternative is for the state to develop the roads using its own resources rather than pension monies.
The aborted Nairobi-Mombasa Expressway would have been one of Kenya’s most expensive infrastructure projects.
Early toll cost estimates were between Sh12 and Sh13 per kilometre. That would have required motorists to pay at least Sh5,280 to use the entire route.
Land acquisition alone was estimated to cost Sh12.9 billion.
Analysts worried that this would have increased tolls, despite high traffic numbers predicted to cover 75% of expenses in a short period of time.
The Rironi-Mau Summit improvement is still on plan. It runs along the Northern Corridor, connecting Nairobi, Nakuru, and Eldoret.
The route is being used for considerable passenger and freight traffic to western Kenya and surrounding countries.
According to Nyoro, the government must be inventive in sourcing cash to finance big road upgrades without burdening taxpayers or instituting additional tolls.
ALSO READ:
- Meth Worth Ksh10 Million Nabbed At JKIA Packed On Handmade Clothes
- Court Rules On Amos Kimunya’s Ksh 60M Land Case, Frees Trio Implicated
- Kirinyaga Women Rep Blocked From Accessing School Despite Lobbying Its Construction
- Kenya, Türkiye Sign Defence Pact Months After Drone Acquisition
- KUCCPS Announces Portal Opening Date As Application Window Closes
“They need to be a bit more creative in raising revenue to do critical infrastructure like we have done before without necessarily doing experimentations that, upon further analysis, they seem to be reckless,” he said.
“This road will cost Kenyans over Sh175 billion, meaning per kilometre of road is Sh1 billion.”
To raise this amount of money, Nyoro suggested that the government consider selling its ownership in multibillion-dollar firms.
“Such statements, when we give them, we are not doing it to accuse anyone. We are doing it so that we have a debate that makes Kenya a better place.”
‘Don’t Toll Rironi-Mau Summit, Nairobi-Mombasa Roads!’ – MP Nyoro Tells Ruto
