Pay to pass:Treasury gives green light to Dongo Kundu tolling plan
Business
By
Macharia Kamau
| Oct 11, 2025
The government is edging nearer to introducing tolls on Mombasa’s Dongo Kundu Bypass, following approval of the proposal by the National Treasury.
Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) is now expected to conduct a feasibility study that will guide the next stage of the proposal. Kenha is then expected to select a private firm through a competitive bidding which will implement the toll system, collecting fees from motorists to fund the road's operation and maintenance.
The Dongo Kundu Bypass is among the already built transport infrastructure projects that the government has been planning to toll as it cites limited funds to cater for its maintenance as the main reason for making such a move. Others include Thika Road, Nairobi’s Southern Bypass and the recently dualled Kenol-Sagana-Marua Road.
The push to toll the roads has been met by a degree of resistance, with those opposing the plan noting that the projects have been built using taxpayer money, unlike the privately funded projects like the Nairobi Expressway, and that tolling them would be a double charge for motorists.
READ MORE
Explained: What Kenya's assumption of COMESA chairmanship means
At least 14 soldiers killed in South Sudan as 'love triangle' turns bloody
KCB Group commits Sh53b to green finance projects
Safaricom banks on innovation as it launches 2025 sustainability report
KMPDU slams governors over remarks on Kiambu infant deaths
IG Kanja orders investigation into CHAN allowance misuse saga
Music mogul Sean 'Diddy' Combs sentenced to more than four years in prison
How 14 family members died in trip to visit sick aunt
The Public Private Partnerships (PPP) Directorate in an update said that the proposal to toll the Dongo Kundu Bypass was “approved in September 2025 for the project to progress to Feasibility Study”.
“The Mombasa Southern Bypass (Dongo Kundu Bypass), completed in 2024, provides a vital alternative to the congested Likoni-Ferry crossing channel. It establishes seamless connectivity between the Northern Corridor, linking Nairobi and inland markets such as Uganda, Rwanda, DRC, and South Sudan, and the Southern Corridor to Tanzania, while also improving access to the Port of Mombasa and the planned Dongo Kundu Special Economic Zone (SEZ).” said the PPP Directorate.
“The project was financed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) with additional support from the Government of Kenya. To sustain the asset and mobilise resources for further infrastructure development, the government plans to procure a toll operator to install tolling infrastructure and operate and maintain the asset.”
The Transport Ministry has in the past said it planned to toll key roads such as the Thika Road and the Southern Bypass, which it has noted are among those that are ripe for the pay-to-use model.
The two roads are essential to movement in the city, both for residents’ daily commutes as well as traffic passing through the city.
Thika Road has been key for many people who commute to work daily in the city but live in Nairobi's satellite towns such as Kiambu and Thika. The Southern Bypass on the other hand has been key in decongesting Mombasa Road, Uhuru Highway and Waiyaki Way, diverting trucks and other traffic from Nairobi's Central Business District.
The plans to toll some roads have gathered momentum in the recent past with the government claiming it has limited funds to maintain roads but also buoyed by the construction and operationalisation of the Nairobi Expressway. China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) designed, built and now manages the road and It charges motorists to undertake repairs and other maintenance works and at the same time recoup its investments. A similar mode is planned for the Rironi-Mau Summit Road as well the Mombasa-Nairobi Expressway.
The government is seeking to implement the National Tolling Policy that makes a case for tolling roads including newly built roads, those that have received major upgrades and roads of higher quality with untolled alternatives. The policy also further pushes for PPPs in road construction and later tolling of such projects for investors to recoup their money while maintaining the roads over a period capped at 30 years. The policy also says there could be instances where Kenyans will not have options but use tolled roads.
The policy seeks to reintroduce charges on motorists to use roads. Earlier, the government used to charge motorists to use such roads as the Mombasa Road, which was tolled at Athi River and Thika Road near Ruiru Town but these were abolished in 1999.