Motorists hoping to cruise on a new dual carriageway between Rironi and Naivasha this weekend will have to wait a little longer. Roads and Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir has pushed the opening of the 60-kilometre section to early December, after the October 30 deadline he set in September came and went with contractors still on site.

Chirchir announced the new timeline in Naivasha on Friday while hosting members of the National Assembly's Transport and Infrastructure Committee on an inspection tour of the Sh200 billion Rironi-Mau Summit highway.

"We want to finish the dualling of the Nairobi-Naivasha section by December and open it for use," the CS said.

Works still in progress

A spot check by the Daily Nation on Friday found workers putting up pillars for an interchange at Naivasha and several stretches still without tarmac, with motorists weaving through the works and traffic building up in places.

Chirchir said more than 90 teams had been deployed and were laying about four kilometres of road a week. He said the government had now secured enough bitumen, which had been a headache after prices reportedly jumped from Sh90 to Sh220 a kilogramme in six months, a spike linked to conflict in the Middle East.

Some design work will continue at the Naivasha Junction, where an interchange with an overpass and an underpass is planned. "We will, however, remain with a few design works at the Naivasha Junction," Chirchir said, adding that the ministry was keeping a close eye on contractors' performance "to ensure value for public money".

Committee chairman George Kariuki praised the progress and said the road should be in good condition for the festive season. "We do not want to see situations we witnessed last year December," he said, referring to the long holiday gridlock on the route.

What motorists will get

The highway is being built under a public-private partnership by a consortium of China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) and the National Social Security Fund. President William Ruto launched the project in November 2025.

  • The Rironi-Naivasha section will expand from two lanes to four, while the Naivasha-Mau Summit stretch will have six lanes.
  • Planned features include grade-separated interchanges, bypasses, modern tolling and an intelligent traffic management system.
  • Proposed tolls are Sh8 per kilometre between Rironi and Naivasha, and Sh8.50 per kilometre between Naivasha and Mau Summit.

Next phase

After Naivasha, the contractor is expected to move to the Gilgil and Mai Mahiu sections, while Shandong Hi-Speed Road and Bridge is expected to handle the Gilgil-Nakuru-Mau Summit stretch. Chirchir said the entire corridor should be complete by June 2027.

For traders along the road, the delay means more months of disruption. Some hawkers told the Nation that demolitions to make way for the expansion had hurt their businesses, though others said a wider road would reduce the accidents that have long made the route notorious.

Photos: Kenyans.co.ke / National Assembly; KeNHA. Thumbnail design: HAMASTA MEDIA.