President William Ruto has announced a major infrastructure plan that will see the construction of a new link road connecting Western Kenya to the proposed Nakuru-Malaba highway.
Speaking during a church service in Busia County on Sunday, July 26, the President said the new road will run from Malaba through Kimaeti, Kimilili, and Bungoma before joining the planned highway. This move is meant to improve transport connectivity between Nairobi and the western region.
Instead of waiting for the Rironi-Mau Summit highway to be extended all the way to the western border, Ruto said the government will begin constructing the Malaba link road immediately.
According to the President, building the two roads at the same time will bring better connectivity to Western Kenya much sooner. "We are building the Rironi-Mau Summit highway, which will eventually reach Malaba. However, I have said that as we wait for that one to reach Mau Summit, we start another one from Malaba as it climbs and connects with that one," Ruto explained.
The proposed Malaba-Kimaeti-Kimilili-Bungoma road will eventually connect with the Nakuru-Malaba highway, creating one continuous transport corridor from the Kenya-Uganda border all the way to Nairobi.
The new link road is expected to boost transport infrastructure in Western Kenya while improving access to Malaba, which is one of the busiest border crossings in the country and a key gateway for regional trade within the East African Community.
This announcement comes as construction of the Rironi-Mau Summit Expressway continues to gather pace, with the government maintaining that the project is on track for completion by June 2027.
The 233-kilometre highway will run from Rironi in Kiambu County through Naivasha and Nakuru to Mau Summit, and is expected to ease chronic traffic congestion along the Northern Corridor while improving the movement of goods and people.
The multi-billion shilling project, estimated to cost more than Ksh170 billion, will feature a four-lane dual carriageway between Rironi and Naivasha, a six-lane section from Naivasha to Nakuru, and an elevated stretch through Nakuru City to ease traffic flow.
Besides announcing the new Malaba link road, President Ruto also pledged to construct another 58-kilometre road in Busia County. He also gave an update on plans to extend the Standard Gauge Railway from Naivasha to the Malaba border, which will further enhance transport links in the region.
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