Construction of the Sh150 billion Nairobi-Nakuru-Mau Summit highway can now proceed after a tribunal dismissed a petition challenging award of the tender.
Two consortia of foreign firms have been battling for the lucrative 187km road tender, slamming brakes on Kenya National Highways Authority's construction plan.
On Tuesday, the Public Private Partnership Petition Committee, the state tribunal charged with arbitrating disputed tenders, dismissed the petition and allowed the mega road project to proceed.
“The prayer that the decision of the contracting authority dated February 27 be declared irregular, unfair, unprocedural and unlawful is hereby denied,” the committee chaired by James Kihara said.
It declined a request by the petitioner for a review of the tender evaluation report or in the alternative fresh tender evaluation.
The Nairobi-Nakuru-Mau Summit road is part of the Northern Corridor. It is the most important road to Western Kenya.
The project, undertaken on a public private partnership basis, is expected to eliminate perennial traffic jams on the highway.
Kenha picked the Rift Valley Connect, a consortium of Vinci Highways SAS, Meridian Infrastructure Africa Fund and Vinci Concessions SAS, as the preferred bidder for the project.
The consortium submitted the lowest bid at Sh159.5 billion with Kenha bosses saying Kenya saved more than Sh35 billion in picking the lowest bidder.
The petitioning consortium, African Infrastructure Investment Fund 3 Partnership, quoted Sh194.9 billion.
African Infrastructure Investment Fund 3 Partnership however was designated the reserve bidder by Kenha, just in case the winning bidder failed to undertake the project.
They accused Kenha of engaging in a non-transparent bidding process to the extent that its fairness and impartiality were highly questionable.
It also claimed the agency did not provide reasons why the consortium was not picked for the tender.
But the tribunal said the petitioners are bound by the confidentiality clause which prohibits the procuring entity from disclosing any information submitted to it as part of bid processes prior to financial close.
“The respondent is only required to communicate the outcome of the procurement process to the bidders," the tribunal ruled.
Edited by Peter Obuya
