Gov’t Denies Awarding Sh300 Billion Nairobi-Mombasa Expressway Contract to US Company

The government has denied that the contract for the construction of Sh300 billion Nairobi-Mombasa expressway was awarded to American company Bechtel.

Speaking when he appeared before Parliament’s Implementation Committee, Transport and Infrastructure Cabinet Secretary James Macharia refuted claims that the US construction company had scooped the  lucrative tender for the six-lane highway linking the two cities.

Macharia was responding to one of the committee members who claimed that the US company pocketed the contract through single-sourcing.

“Neither Parliament nor the general public knows how this tender was granted to Bechtel with no competitive bidding. Even the discussions with the American government were done in the dark,” said Dagoretti North MP Simba Arati.

In response, Macharia termed the claim as hearsay, stating that the road had not been tendered.

“The construction of the Nairobi-Mombasa Highway has not been tendered to anybody. My ministry has no knowledge of an agreement with Bechtel. There is talk of single-sourcing of this tender to the Americans which I know nothing about,” he said.

In September 2017, Kenya National Highway Author (KenHA) Director General Peter Mundinia issued a statement saying that Kenya had signed a deal with the US government for construction of the highway.

“The selection of Bechtel for this project was based on Bechtel’s 119-year experience in delivering infrastructure projects around the world, focused on delivering to a high international standard quality and building local capacity,” KenHA’s statement read.