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Construction of the 40km Kakamega-Webuye Road is set to resume, subject to confirmation on commencement date.
This is after Transport ministry Wednesday picked a new contractor for the stalled project, replacing Vil Limited who had its contract terminated in May for being in breach of contract for delaying works.
The new contractor, Jiangxi Zhongmei Engineering Construction Co ltd signed an agreement with Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) for the rehabilitation of the Kakamega –Webuye section of Kisumu – Kitale road, which will cost Sh4.1billion.
The World Bank through International Development Association (IDA) will provide 75 per cent financing of the total project’s cost while the Government of Kenya (GoK) will finance the remaining 25 percent.
Transport Principal Secretary John Mosonik said the project will take 24 months to complete and will involve rehabilitation and widening of the existing road, construction of a second carriageway as well as service roads and access roads.
“This particular project that had stalled for several months will now take 24 calendar months to complete and is part of the many projects we have in the pipeline,” said Mosonik, revealing that feasibility studies for the construction of Nairobi – Nakuru Highway was also complete and would be put to tender by November, 2016.
The PS further said that the ministry had prioritized five key projects including the expansion of Nairobi –Nakuru highway, Mombasa – Nairobi and the construction of Nyali Bridge in Mombasa among others to be undertaken through a Public-Private Partnership (PPPs) model.
Works on the road stretch had stalled following a litigation dispute between KeNHA and Vil Ltd after the agency had served the contractor with a notice in 2014 for delaying the project, leading to interruption for highway users.
The High Court had in May this year finally cleared the way for another contractor to be appointed to undertake the project.