JKIA-Westlands Expressway Is The New Most Expensive Road In The World

Kenya is building one of the most expensive roads in the world according to sources within the ministry and other publications.

The construction of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport – Westlands Expressway is already underway at a cost of 62 billion shillings.

The road is only 27 kilometers meaning a kilometer is being constructed at the cost of 2.30 billion shillings.

The JKIA – Westlands Expressway is being constructed by China Road and Bridge Corporation. The company will be left to run the road for 27 years, between 2023 and 2049, making a profit of about 1 trillion shillings.

Those who will use the road will be required to pay a daily fee in what the government says will be for those who can afford it. In other words, it will be the most expensive road and be used by those who can afford to.

There is an ongoing case in court filed by activists who want it stopped saying the contents of the contract were not made public and that public participation did not take place.

While talking about the advantages of the road, CS for Transport James Macharia said that the road will reduce the traffic, especially along Mombasa road by at least 80 percent.

READ: Motorists Will Be Jailed For 6 Months For Evading Highway Toll Fee

Starting July 1, 2020, Kenyans using certain major roads in Kenya will start paying a toll fee. Those who will fail to pay the toll fee, risk going to jail for 6 months, pay a fine of 50,000 shillings or both.

The penalty for avoiding paying the toll fee had been set at 5,000 shillings but the National Assembly revised it upwards to 50,000 shillings.

The government says it is putting in place the legal mechanisms that will ensure that the toll fees implementation is effected as soon as possible. The mechanisms are expected to be completed by July 1, 2020.

Motorists driving along Nairobi-Nakuru, Nairobi-Mombasa, Nairobi-Thika, and the Southern Bypass in Nairobi will be forced to pay the fee before being allowed to drive on the roads.

READ: Kenya School Of Law Staff To Be Arrested For Stealing Ksh 198 Million