The Kenyan Treasury has cancelled plans for the proposed Sh468 billion Nairobi–Mombasa Expressway and instead instructed the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) to focus on expanding the existing A8 highway.
The 459-kilometre, four-lane toll road — known as the Nairobi-Mombasa (Usahihi) Expressway — was to be developed by American firm Everstrong Capital Kenya under a Public–Private Partnership (PPP). The project followed a Design, Build, Finance, Operate, Maintain, and Transfer (DBFOMT) model, aimed at reducing travel time and transport costs between Nairobi and the port city of Mombasa.
However, during its 54th ordinary meeting on July 2, 2025, the PPP Committee under the National Treasury’s Economic Planning Department determined that the proposal failed to meet the necessary criteria for approval. As a result, the project has officially been abandoned in line with Section 43(11)(c) of the PPP Act, 2021.
KeNHA has now been directed to revise its approach by upgrading the current Nairobi–Mombasa highway rather than constructing a new expressway.
