Nairobi expressway introduces new exit plaza at Greenpark

Roads and Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has said the Nairobi Expressway is set to have a new exit plaza at the Greenpark. 

Murkomen on Thursday went to inspect the ongoing work on a new Nairobi Expressway Exit Plaza at Greenpark that will have five toll lanes.

He said the project, expected to be completed in mid-January, will help reduce traffic congestion and improve vehicle flow in the city.

"There are also plans to add two more lanes, from the current three, at the Museum Hill Exit," the CS said.

He said the Nairobi Expressway is a shining monument to what Private-Public Partnerships can do.

He noted that the Expressway has reduced travel time from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to Nairobi from two hours to 20 minutes at no cost to taxpayers.

"It has also become a major job creator, employing 6,000 Kenyans during its construction and now offering 500 permanent jobs. Some 200,000 subscribers have enrolled for the E-Ticketing system in 19 months and the road has carried 26 million vehicles, proving that there was indeed demand for it," he said. 

Besides the many socioeconomic benefits, Murkomen said the Nairobi Expressway is also facilitating the transfer of technology to Kenya.

He said its smart traffic monitoring system, with a 360-degree view of the whole road, has enhanced security and emergency response.

"It will provide a good benchmark for the Intelligent Traffic System (ITS) that we have been piloting and is now ready to be rolled out," the CS said. 

Thanks to the success of the Expressway, Murkomen said the ministry is now receiving increasing demand for similar projects.

He added that the ministry is considering the dualling of the Rironi-Mau Summit road expected to begin in the next year.

"A long-term plan to develop roads across the country is underway, some of these roads are; the Nairobi-Mombasa highway and Athi River-Namanga highways, Kisumu-Isibania and Kiambu Road," Murkomen said. 

"We are grateful to the People’s Republic of China and its companies, for being receptive to invest in the country under the PPP program that will ease the credit burden to the country."