- The National Treasury approved the concept note for upgrading the 136km A2 corridor to a dual carriageway
- The PPP Directorate described the Athi River–Namanga route as a strategic artery linking Nairobi to Tanzania along the Cairo–Cape Town Trans-African Highway
- The project is the second major dual carriageway proposal in Kenya's development pipeline, following the planned Mau Summit–Malaba upgrade
TUKO.co.ke journalist Japhet Ruto has over eight years of experience in financial, business, and technology reporting, offering insights into Kenyan and global economic trends.
Kenya's National Treasury has granted first approval to a concept note for converting the Athi River–Namanga road into a dual carriageway, advancing a project designed to ease mounting traffic pressure on one of the country's most critical cross-border routes.
Source: Twitter
The Public Private Partnership (PPP) Directorate confirmed the approval was granted in September, marking the earliest formal step in what could become a major infrastructure undertaking.
A concept note is a preliminary document used to gauge interest among stakeholders and donors before a full project proposal is developed.
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What the A2 Corridor upgrade involves
The 136-kilometre stretch, officially designated the A2 corridor, runs from Athi River through Kitengela, Isinya and Kajiado before terminating at the Namanga border town.
The PPP Directorate described it as a vital transport artery that connects Nairobi to northern Tanzania and forms part of the Cairo–Cape Town Trans-African Highway, while also serving the expanding peri-urban communities along the route, Konza Technopolis, and key economic zones in Machakos and Kajiado counties.
"The project will entail capacity enhancement of the A2 corridor, with a minimum standard of a dual carriageway, to address increasing traffic demand and infrastructure constraints," the directorate stated, as reported by Business Daily.
Beyond managing congestion, the upgrade is intended to improve road safety, support the growth of the Nairobi Metropolitan Region, and provide an alternative to the heavily trafficked Nairobi–Mombasa Highway, known as the A8.
Which other highway will be dualled?
The A2 corridor proposal is not the only dual carriageway scheme moving through Kenya's development pipeline.
The planned 243-kilometre Mau Summit–Malaba dual carriageway has already cleared a preliminary viability assessment, paving the way for a detailed feasibility study to determine final costs, traffic projections, toll fee structures and the PPP framework.
Canadian firm CPCS and Kenyan consultancy Avatech Engineering jointly conducted the pre-feasibility study that will inform both the project's cost estimates and the toll rates that private investors would be allowed to charge.
The two projects come against a backdrop of persistent road network challenges.
Data from the Kenya Roads Board shows that paved roads accounted for only 10.6% of Kenya's total road network as of 2025, despite a steady increase in bitumen-surfaced roads from 21,830 kilometres in 2021 to 25,410 kilometres in 2025.
Total unpaved roads surged to 213,710 kilometres in the same year, underscoring the scale of the infrastructure gap the government is working to close through PPP arrangements.
Source: TUKO.co.ke