Motorists in Nairobi’s Eastlands area can look forward to less congestion following the award of a tender to Sino Hydro Tianjin Engineering to expand the Outer Ring Road into a dual carriage way. The road, whose expansion is scheduled to start in October, will serve two million residents and light industries and provide a faster connection to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. SinoHydro, which tendered Ksh7.4 billion ($84 million) beat eight rivals to the contract to convert the congested 13km stretch into a two-lane dual carriageway with interchanges instead of roundabouts, cycle lanes, jua kali sheds, health centres and a forest strip along the route. It is the firm that built the 14km stretch of the Thika superhighway between Muthaiga and Kenyatta University. The African Development Bank, which is financing the project, said it reserved the right to review any complaint of a bidder following the award. “Any consultant who wishes to ascertain the grounds on which its proposal was not selected, should request an explanation from the executing agency, Kenya Urban Roads Authority,” said AfDB in a good works information notice two weeks ago. The Kenya government is financing 11.5 per cent of the project, amounting to Ksh1 billion ($11.3 million). AfDB’s executive board, on November 13 last year, approved a $115.9 million loan and a $5 million grant to improve the road. The loan is repayable over 40 years after a grace period of 10 years at an interest rate of one per cent. SinoHydro is expected to carry out the civil works over 36 months. If the schedule is kept it will mean the road took four years from tender flotation to completion. The road which traverses the densely populated Nairobi’s Eastlands area is a major artery connected to Nairobi-Thika highway, Eastern Bypass, Northern Bypass, Mombasa Road and Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Complementary civil works include 250 market stalls with associated sanitary facilities, planting of 4,500 trees along the corridor, a children’s traffic safety park, and three wellness centres for HIV/Aids and related illnesses.
Posted on: Mon, 01 Sep 2014 06:29:24 +0000
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