Pay up or pay: Why Mau- Rironi highway toll-free options could be costlier

Once the upgrade of the Rironi-Mau Summit road is done, Kenyans travelling to western Kenya might have limited options but to pay to use the road, with the government appearing reluctant to offer toll-free alternatives.

This is even as concerns continue to mount that the project has taken an overly commercial approach despite transport infrastructure being a public good and an economic enabler for Kenya and its East African neighbours.

The government is currently negotiating with the consortium of China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) and Kenya’s National Social Security Fund (NSSF) on the delivery of the project.

The consortium’s privately initiated proposal beat that of China’s Shandong Hi-Speed Road and Bridge International Engineering Company.

Another bid by Burundi-registered Multiplex Partners Company was not evaluated after it failed to pay a mandatory non-refundable proposal review fee. 

Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) said the project cost is among the issues that are being negotiated with the CRBC-NSSF consortium before contract signing.

Earlier projections have put the cost at between Sh170 billion and Sh200 billion, which the consortium will fork out and recover over a 30 years. 

Also subject to negotiations is the toll tariff, which has been tentatively put at Sh8 per kilometre, translating to Sh1,400 for the entire stretch between Rironi and Mau Summit.

This is a substantial additional cost for transporters moving people and cargo along the corridor as well as families travelling to and from their rural homes.

Nairobi Expressway

While the government said it is yet to award the project to the CRBC-NSSF consortium, it is pushing for the project to break ground in the coming months and to be completed in 2027.

Once the project is completed, motorists seeking non-tolled alternatives may have to completely veer off the highway. 

KeNHA said it would map out alternative roads “where possible” for Kenyans who will be unable to pay toll charges. It did not, however, explain what these toll-free alternatives would be and whether the tolled road would take the entire corridor.

The completed project could be unlike the situation with the Nairobi-Expressway, where Mombasa Road was retained as a toll free alternative.

“The Authority shall map out available alternative roads from Rironi to Mau-Summit, where feasible, for consideration and use by the public who may opt not to pay and use this project,” said KeNHA in a statement Wednesday.

“It is, however, imperative to note that the usage of the toll road shall be cheaper as there shall be resultant savings in travel times, vehicle operating costs and safety.”

It said it was committed to ensuring transparency, accountability and compliance with the PPP Act in implementing the project.

“The public should be assured that the Authority will ensure their interests are accommodated regarding the structure, intent and safeguards of the project.

Observers have criticised the government for prioritising the commercial viability of infrastructure in implementing Public Private Partnerships (PPPs), including roads that will then be tolled.

The National Tolling Policy, which is still in its draft form, does not require the government to offer a toll-free alternative to roads where motorists are required to pay to use. 

This is despite the policy acknowledging that not all Kenyans will have capacity to pay the charges. It is also despite the government committing to implement tolling in a fair and equitable manner, which would see motorists get discounts as well as varying toll charges based on vehicle type or time of day.

“Roads on which tolls are collected will not be required to have a dedicated toll-free alternative route. However, public acceptability considerations should be addressed through toll levels, discounts and phased introduction of tolls,” reads the National Tolling Policy, which adds that where there are no alternatives, the government and the road operator would put in measures to make the charges affordable.

Another section of the Policy also appears to prioritise the commercial value of infrastructure, noting that government and firms manning tolled roads should offer toll free alternatives in case that would jeopardise the commercial viability of a road.

“Where there are existing alternative routes of acceptable standards for road users to commute to their destinations, it will not be mandatory to provide a dedicated toll-free alternative especially where it will be deemed to impact on the commercial viability of the Toll Road.

“Where there is no alternative, appropriate measures… will be considered to ensure that the Toll Tariffs are affordable.”

For Peter Murima, the chairman Motorists Association of Kenya, reading the National Tolling Policy as well as a look at how the Rironi-Mau Summit might look like, the non-tolled alternatives could be costlier.

“Don’t buy into the lie. The Rironi–Mau Summit project has no real alternative,” he said on social media platform X on Wednesday.

Murima, in an interview with The Standard, questioned the move to hand over a key transport corridor to private players who will then control who uses  the road. He noted that such a road should be done on virgin land and leave the existing road as it is. 

“The project proponent should acquire land, compensate people and do a completely new road and leave the existing one,” he said.

“We have a beef with KeNHA, not because we do not want the road to be built through the PPP model, but because they want to do a PPP road on a public road.”

“As per the Constitution, there is no way public land can be privately run or controlled or owned. The Constitution is also clear that you cannot impede people’s freedom of movement. When you do a road and subject them to use and pay… legally it should not not be possible but here we are.”

Murima also explained that he attended several of the public participation forums that KeNHA conducted along the Rironi-Mau Summit road and said what he saw were rubber stamping sessions. 

He decried the manner in which public participation was undertaken, saying that KeNHA would make lengthy presentations and leave little time for questions or to take feedback from the people who live and work along the highway.

“When we gave ideas or sent presentations, they were not taken into consideration going by the report that was presented to Parliament…. the sessions were just a formality,” Murima said. 

“The stakeholder forums were just a charade… to take our photos and have people sign attendance sheets so that it can be seen that there was public participation,” he added.

Ian Njoroge, an economic analyst, noted that the impression of the planned road so far projects something contrary to the fair and equitable system that the road tolling policy talks about.

“The notion of a ‘free’ alternative is an illusion of that road is slower, congested and poorly maintained,” he said. “You are creating a first-class road for those who can pay and a second class, penalty route for everyone else. This will institutionalise inequality.”

Tanzania alternative

Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro has also expressed concerns about the overlay commercial approach to tolling and specifically planned tolling of the Rironi-Mau Summit Road.

“Kenyans in the western part of Kenya deserve this road to be dualled… but it will not serve our economy when this road is packaged as a business model,” he said.

Kenya has over the years had a push and pull about the cost that transporters have to incur when moving goods through the Northern Transport Corridor, which serves not just Kenya but also other East African countries in the region that use it as an import and export artery.

Other than the taxes, port charges and other costs they have to incur, businesses have complained about non-tariff barriers, including bribery to personnel of different authorities manning the corridor. This has over time seen some of them experiment with the much longer but friendlier Central Corridor in Tanzania.

An additional cost to transportation through tolling the Rironi-Mau Summit road could come with the risk of pushing more businesses to use the Tanzanian route. 

“If you increase the cost of transportation, what you are advising our neighbours to do is to look for alternatives and I do not think this is good for our economy,” said Nyoro.