Ruto Meets Officials of Company Picked to Dual the Rironi-Mau Summit Road [Details]

President William Ruto has announced that the long-awaited dualling of the Rironi-Naivasha-Mau Summit Highway is set to begin on Friday, November 28. 

In a statement on Monday, November 17, Ruto announced that he had met senior representatives from China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), whose subsidiary, China Roads and Bridges Corporation (CRBC), will handle the construction.

"The dualling of the 170km Rironi-Naivasha-Mau Summit road begins on November 28, 2025. This will herald a major milestone for this critical part of the Northern Corridor between Nairobi and Western Kenya, facilitating movement and boosting trade and, at the same time, bringing an end to decades of agonising traffic gridlock, congestion, delays, and disastrous accidents.

"Met China Communications Construction Company President Zhang Bingman, State House Nairobi, whose subsidiary, China Roads and Bridges Corporation (CRBC) will be building the road," he said.

Ruto also revealed that another major section of the road would be expanded simultaneously.

"On the same day, we will also break ground for the 58km dualling of the Rironi-Maai Mahiu-Naivasha road, opening new frontiers on a highway that serves the southern part of our country," he added.

Ruto further credited Kenya’s strong infrastructure progress to robust relations with China, and pointed to past successes resulting from these partnerships.

"Infrastructure development in our country has made a huge leap forward courtesy of the strong and deep relations between Kenya and China, and Chinese companies.

"Consequently, we have been able to implement key flagship projects, including the Standard Gauge Railway, Nairobi Expressway and many roads. Major infrastructure projects by our partners are underway, including the Talanta Sports City, 21 other stadia, the Bomas Convention Centre, and the Lamu-Ijara-Garissa road," he further said.

The new development comes two weeks after the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) announced that two companies have reached the final stages of negotiations to lead the construction of the Nairobi-Nakuru-Mau Summit and Rironi–Maai Mahiu-Naivasha highways.

In a statement on Wednesday, November 5, KeNHA Acting Director General Luka Kimeli said the authority followed all the necessary procedures in line with the Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) Act in evaluating and forwarding the proposals for the project’s development.

"KeNHA evaluated the Project Development Phase submissions in accordance with Section 43(9) of the Public-Private-Partnerships Act, Cap 430 and forwarded the Evaluation Report to the PPP Directorate for review and recommendation to the PPP Committee," the statement read.

Kimeli further revealed that the PPP Committee had reviewed and concurred with the evaluation results, naming the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) and the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) Consortium as the preferred proponents.

"Subsequently, the PPP Committee, under the National Treasury, concurred that the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) and National Social Security Fund Trustees (NSSF) Consortium is the Preferred Proponent, based on the recommendations of the Evaluation Report," the statement added.

However, Kimeli clarified that the approval granted by the PPP Committee does not yet amount to a final award for implementation. 

The process, he said, is still in the negotiation phase between KeNHA and the identified consortium.

"Kindly note that the PPP Committee has not yet approved the award for implementation of the Project. The concurrence granted, only allows KeNHA to commence negotiations with the Preferred Proponent in line with the PPP process. This is the process that is currently ongoing.

"The Authority would like to reiterate here that at every stage of implementation of this project, there shall be high levels of transparency and accountability. All progress updates and decisions are being disclosed publicly in accordance with the PPP Act, Cap 430 and the National Treasury Circular dated 24th April 2025 on Public Disclosure of Privately Initiated Proposals (PIPs)," the statement further read.