Reduced travel time, catalyzed real estate development, improved road safety, reduced congestion on northern Nairobi corridor
Thika Superhighway (Nairobi-Thika Highway Improvement)
Upgrade of the 50km Nairobi-Thika road into an 8-lane dual carriageway superhighway, Kenya's first modern expressway.
AnnouncedJanuary 1, 2007
StartedJanuary 15, 2009
Expected CompletionJune 1, 2012
CompletedNovember 9, 2012
Financials
Offering PriceKsh 31,000,000,000KES
Actual CostKsh 31,000,000,000KES
Cost Variance
Timeline
Construction Begins
Groundbreaking for the Thika Superhighway improvement project
Phase 1 Opened
First sections of the superhighway opened to traffic
Full Completion and Opening
President Kibaki officially opened the fully completed Thika Superhighway
Contractors
Sinohydro Corporation
Contractor (Section I)Built the first section of the superhighway
China Wu Yi Co. Ltd
Contractor (Section II)Built the second section of the superhighway
Sheng Li Engineering Construction Group
Contractor (Section III)Built the third section of the superhighway
Politicians Involved
Mwai Kibaki
President of KenyaLaunched and officially opened the Thika Superhighway
Franklin Bett
Minister for RoadsOversaw the Thika Superhighway construction
Benefits
Description
The Thika Superhighway project involved upgrading the 50.4km road between Nairobi and Thika from a single carriageway to an 8-lane (4 lanes each direction) dual carriageway with grade-separated interchanges, service roads, and modern lighting. Jointly funded by the African Development Bank, Kenyan government, and Chinese government, it was built by three Chinese firms. It dramatically reduced travel time between Nairobi and Thika and catalyzed massive real estate development along the corridor.
Overview
Transformed Nairobi's northern corridor, reduced Nairobi-Thika travel from 2+ hours to 30 minutes, triggered unprecedented real estate boom and satellite town development.