The government has allocated Sh1.65 billion for the maintenance of the deteriorating Thika Superhighway, highlighting the growing cost of maintaining the Sh27 billion infrastructure project that was once hailed as a masterpiece.

📋 Breaking It Down

The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure told Parliament that the maintenance allocation for the financial year 2025/26 was Sh1,400,632,612.41, while Sh1,649,541,319 has been allocated for the current financial year.

The ministry said maintenance contracts covering various sections of the highway are already under way.

The contract for the Nairobi-Ruiru section commenced on June 9, 2025 and will run for 24 months, with completion scheduled for June 8, 2027. The contract for the Ruiru-Thika section also commenced on June 9, 2025 and is scheduled to run until June 8, 2027, while that for the Thika-Kenol section commenced on November 24, 2025 and is due for completion on November 23, 2027.

📌 What You Need to Know

Traffic flowing on Thika Superhighway heading towards the city center on July 16, 2026.

“The Ministry further submitted that comprehensive rehabilitation and reconstruction of the Thika-Kenol section will be undertaken subject to the availability of funding, completion of the requisite procurement processes, and fulfilment of statutory requirements,” the ministry said in submissions to the National Assembly.

The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA), through the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), constructed the approximately 50-kilometre superhighway between 2009 and 2012. It was officially opened on November 9, 2012.

The project which cost approximately $360 million (Sh27 billion at the time), was designed to ease severe congestion and improve transport links between Nairobi, Thika and surrounding areas.

It introduced widened carriageways, interchanges, flyovers, underpasses, service roads, pedestrian facilities, drainage systems and street lighting.

The ministry provided the latest maintenance figures in response to a request by Mathioya MP Edwin Mugo, who sought to know what the government was doing to address the deteriorating state of the Thika Superhighway.

📰 Source: Nation Africa