President Uhuru Kenyatta is set to leave for France on Wednesday where he will sign a Ksh180 billion loan.
The Ksh180 billion loan will be part of a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) for the construction of the dual 190 km Rironi-Nakuru-Mau Summit Road.
According to the Nation, President Uhuru will meet French President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace in Paris.
Uhuru will also sign on other projects to be executed under a PPP arrangement which includes water and energy.
This marks the first international visit for President Uhuru Kenyatta since March when the COVID-19 pandemic struck.
The PPP deal between Kenya and France will approve a “tolling concession” pact with a consortium of French firms under Rift Valley Connect led by Meridiam Infrastructure Africa Fund will unlock the funding of the road, which once complete will be the country’s first toll highway outside Nairobi.
Once complete, the Rironi-Nakuru-Mau Summit road will open up these regions and also offer an alternative mode of transport besides the SGR which snakes its way to Naivasha.
It will play a key role in the transportation of goods between Naivasha and Malaba.
Meridiam International was awarded the tender for the construction of this corridor by the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA).
Vinci Highways SAS and Vinci Concessions SA which are part of the consortium will be undertaking this project.
According to the agreement, the project will be executed on a PPP basis with the consortium being tasked with funding the construction of the road, designing, maintaining and operating the road on pre-agreed standards and specifications.
A tolling fund is expected to be established before December 2020.
Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia is, however, yet to comment on the project.
However, focus according to his earlier pronouncement is that the construction of the Rironi-Nakuru-Mau Summit road is of priority as well as the Expressway from JKIA to Rironi whose construction has begun.
“We decided to give priority to two Public-Private Partnership projects,” he said at a past interview.
In both projects, the investors will recover their money through toll stations to be set up along these corridors for the next 30 years after completion.