Gov’t defends plan to introduce toll charges on major highways starting May

Motorists may have to dig deeper into their pockets to use major roads in the country from May this year if the government's plan to introduce toll charges on highways moves forward.

Nearly a year has passed since the government first announced its intention to expand toll charges to all major roads in the country.

Justifying the proposal, the Kenya National Highways Authority (KENHA), says Kenya’s road infrastructure requires continuous maintenance and expansion to keep up with rising traffic demands.

However, with limited public funds and increasing debt, the government sees tolling as a sustainable solution.

“Most of our key corridors have exceeded their capacity, for example, the Nairobi Mombasa, second is Nairobi Nakuru Mau Summit... Many have spent nights in that corridor just because of its capacity,” said KeNHA Deputy Director PPP Eng. Kefa Seda.

Kenya’s road network stretches 239,122 kilometres, with 164,966 kilometres classified and 74,155 kilometres unclassified. The state estimates it will need Ksh.5.2 trillion over the next decade to improve connectivity and maintain 69% of the network.

“A study undertaken in 2023, informs that estimated annual maintenance needs for Kenyan road networks stands at Ksh.253 billion, while the RMLF collections is at Ksh.100 billion, that paints the deficit we have,” said Seda.

“The exchequer and RMLF are currently the major sources of financing for road development and maintenance. However, given the current budgetary constraints and projected decline of RMLF due to adoption, e-mobility amongst other reasons, other sources of financing need to be explored.”

The government plans to begin collecting public feedback on the proposal starting Monday next week. If the process proceeds as scheduled, the policy could be finalized and published by the end of April.

“This is one of the initiatives we are taking today to ensure that the more commercial roads that have got heavy traffic can be billed as a toll road so that we really do more of our obligation in terms of opening spaces that attract investors,” said Transport CS Davis Chirchir.

Currently, the Nairobi Expressway remains Kenya’s only tolled road. Spanning 27 kilometres, it links Nairobi’s Central Business District to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. The government views it as a successful self-financing infrastructure model and is now prioritizing additional highways for tolling.