President William Ruto announced plans to upgrade the Nairobi-Mombasa highway into a dual carriageway within one year to ease congestion.
The government plans to complete the project without placing extra debt or tax burdens on citizens, according to President William Ruto.
“In a very short time, we are going to inform the country on how we are going to dual the road from Mombasa all the way to Nairobi. We must do it, and we are going to do it within the next one year,” Ruto said during the Kenya Comprehensive School Heads Association National Annual General Meeting in Mombasa.
“We are going to do it without burdening Kenyans with additional taxes or additional debt,” Ruto said, speaking at the conference on November 12, 2026.
The fresh push revives efforts to transform the 461-kilometre corridor connecting the capital to the Port of Mombasa. Mining and Blue Economy Cabinet Secretary Hassan Joho had hinted at the intervention during an engagement with coastal media stations on November 8, 2026.
“Nikuambie siri moja, Raisi ata make a major announcement on the Nairobi-Mombasa Highway. This highway has been a nightmare for long-distance trucks. He is soon going to make a major announcement. Let us wait for him,” Joho said.
The renewed focus follows the collapse of an earlier private proposal. The National Treasury’s PPP Committee rejected a Sh468 billion plan from American investor Everstrong Capital under the Usahihi project in July 2025 due to financial and technical shortcomings. A tribunal upheld that decision in April 2026.
The route links Nairobi to the country’s largest seaport, carrying thousands of vehicles daily. Its expansion is expected to address congestion and reduce head-on collisions on the two-lane highway, which has claimed dozens of lives.
President Ruto reiterated plans to construct a four-lane highway from Mau Summit through several counties. The route passes through Kericho, Bomet, Nyamira, and Kisii before connecting to the Kisii-Kisumu highway. The Kisii-Kisumu section will also be expanded into a four-lane road linking Kisii, Homa Bay, and Kisumu counties, while the Eldoret-Malaba highway will proceed as part of the road expansion programme.
How will the government fund the multibillion-shilling project without adding debt or taxes?