THIKA SUPER HIGHWAY PROJECT

Background of the project

The Nairobi-Thika Corridor (also called the Thika Road) is in the northeast of the Nairobi
Metropolitan Region and extends from Nairobi City Center to Thika District. The trunk road
currently serves as a main cargo route and an important metropolitan, regional and international
transit link and is part of the classified international A2 trunk road, which originates in Nairobi
City Center and extends to Moyale, Ethiopia. The road also acts as a main artery for various
satellite towns and economic hubs that lie along and near the corridor, including Ruaraka,
Kasarani, Kiambu Town, Githurai, Ruiru, Juja and Thika.

Thika Road is one of the most traveled corridors in the Nairobi Metropolitan Region. A 2006
traffic count revealed that Nairobi-Thika Road carries around 70,000 vehicles per day, the
highest in the East African Region (JICA 2006). The problems currently plaguing commuters,
residents and business owners along Thika Road including heavy congestion, dilapidated
infrastructure, poor air quality, and high accident and fatality rates, are illustrative of the broader
urban transportation problems that characterize the entire metropolitan area.

In December 2009, the much-anticipated Nairobi-Thika Highway Improvement Project broke

ground. The upgrading project is intended to transform the old dual carriage 45 km (28 mile)
Thika roadway into Kenyas first super highway. It aims to address the problems of congestion,
traffic accidents and air pollution and improve economic development. Improving this vital
transport corridor is an important infrastructure project for the Government of Kenya (GoK) and
is partially funded by the African Development Bank Group (ADB) as well as the Government
of China through loans.

The rationale and articulated vision behind the project is to improve the economic productivity
and mobility of those living along the road while transforming Thika Road into part of a Great
North Trans-African Highway from Cape Town to Cairo, facilitating regional trade and
economic development. According to the GoK and reports by the ADF, the rehabilitation and
redevelopment of the road is expected to accelerate economic opportunities throughout Kenya
and will reach multiple groups and stakeholders. The users of the road will benefit from reduced
travel times. Heavy freight that transport goods to other towns and even across borders will
benefit from the reduced travel times due to the separation of local and thruway traffic as well as
the improved surfacing and design of the road. In addition, by providing local and express
through-lanes and accessible public transit the highway is expected to reduce average travel time
during peak hours. It is stated in these reports that the accident rate will decrease along with a
reduction in the average cost of public transit along this corridor (ADF Appraisal Report 2007).

The GoK and ADF also argue that there will be positive environmental and social impacts with a
reduction of toxic vehicular emissions from idling vehicles during traffic jams, reduced accidents
which will improve fatality and injury rates, reduced risks to the soil and water resulting from
spills from heavy trucks transporting goods, and lastly reduced congestion leading to an
improved quality of life with increased productivity and personal safety. The challenge here is to
ensure that the goals of enhancing local well-being and the goals of serving international
commerce are compatible. The concern now is that in serving international commerce the local
needs of metropolitan Nairobi could be compromised.

Qualities of Thika Super Highway project

Duration

The initial planning and diagnostic studies of the inadequacies of the road were done within the
context of the Nairobi Metropolitan Area Urban Transport Plan (NMUPT). The study was
commissioned by the Government in 2004 with funding from Japan International Cooperation
Agency (JICA). The mega-project in East and Central Africa started in 2009, and officially
opened in November 2012 by former President Kibaki.

Objectives of the project

The overall objectives of the project are to: Improve road transport services along the Nairobi-
Thika corridor and enhance urban mobility by reducing traffic congestion, Enhance the
accessibility, affordability and reliability of the transport infrastructure system to promote socio-
economic development of the country, Contribute to the development of a sustainable urban
public transit system for the Nairobi Metropolitan Area, Improve land transport between Kenya
and Ethiopia and contribute to regional integration, Promote private sector participation in the
management, operation and financing of road infrastructure in Kenya

Temporary opportunities

The highway project has many immediate direct and indirect pay backs. Firstly, it provided
Kenyans with jobs at a time Kenya was going through economic stresses. Employees benefited
in acquiring skills which will be useful in similar civil projects and created lots of demands
for goods and services

Resources of the project

Center for Sustainable Urban Development worked with an interdisciplinary research

consortium with the University of Nairobis (UoN) Department of Geography and
Environmental Studies, the Kenya Alliance of Resident Associations (KARA), and the Jomo
Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) to systematically research the
Thika Road Expansion Project, which is transforming the old dual carriage 45 km Thika roadway
into Kenyas first super highway. In 2007, the government solicited a financial assistance of the
Tunis-based African Development Bank (AfDB) Group, who gave a nod following an appraisal
of the project in the same year.Lot 1 and Lot 2 was jointly financed by an AfDB (African
Development Bank) loan and grant, and the Government of Kenya. Lot 3 has been financed by
EXIM Bank of China and the Government of Kenya.

CONTRACTORS: LOT 1: M/S China Wu Yi Company Ltd.

LOT 2: M/S Synohydro Corporation Ltd.

LOT 3: M/S Shengli Engineering Construction Group Co. Ltd.

Uniqueness of the project

Investors and entrepreneurs including industrialists have benefit by relocation along Thika super
highway. They have easier access to the markets and space for expansion. Speculators are also
likely to make money by selling land near the superhighway or accessible from the highway.
However, the most significant pay back to the economy is improved productivity. Many hours
previously wasted by persons and transport equipment in traffic hold-ups will now be put into
more useful economic and social activities. Reduced lay-time on the roads by commercial and
public transport vehicles means increased vehicle turnaround and lower business and travel
costs.

Reference

https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2000039166/what-are-the-economic-benefits-of-thika-
superhighway

https://constructionreviewonline.com/2013/06/cover-story-nairobi-thika-road-expansion

http://csud.ei.columbia.edu/projects/nairobi-regional-project/thika-highway-improvement-project