By Judith Gicobi
As investors consider whether to begin reimbursing billions spent on the project, guided trials of the Nairobi Expressway will see a cross-section of the public sample the facility.
“As the contractor nears completion, and in preparation for the eventual opening of the road to the public, there will be guided trials to test the operation of the system that has been installed,” the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) stated in a statement.
Regardless of the fact that the project is four months ahead of schedule, the project contractor China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) will forego the custom of opening roads to the public before official commissioning.
“The trials involve select staff from KeNHA, contractors, and the project implementing company to mention but a few,” it continued.
Others will come from government institutions such as the presidential Delivery Unit, the Ministry of Transport, the Office of the Government Spokesperson, and the Moja Expressway, a CRBC affiliate.
The road is anticipated to open to public traffic later this month, with Moja Expressway agreeing to run and maintain the route for 27 years in order to help repay the Sh89 billion spent on construction by charging toll fees.
The subsidiary will accept three different methods of payment: electronic toll collection, manual toll card, and cash. As the vehicle passes through the toll station, infrared screening of the pre-installed devices will automatically deduct travel points for electronic toll collecting payment.
At toll stations, consumers will swipe their cards and a cost will be charged based on the distance traveled. At the toll gates, there will be no direct mobile transactions.
The device can be acquired from the Mombasa Road Expressway Operations and Maintenance Centre near Cabanas.
Motorists will pay a fee of between Sh310 and Sh100 to use the new route, according to a Government Gazette notification. To protect the operator from exchange rate losses, the tolls will be denominated in dollars, suggesting that if the shillings weaken, the tolls will rise.
