The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) has shed light on why it turned down a high-profile Public-Private Partnership (PPP) proposal from Everstrong Capital, a US-based infrastructure firm, for the construction of the much-anticipated Nairobi–Mombasa Expressway.
The $3 billion, 440-kilometre mega project, intended to connect Kenya’s capital to its busiest port city, has long been touted as a potential game-changer for trade, logistics, and tourism.
However, KeNHA disclosed that Everstrong Capital’s proposal fell short of specific evaluation benchmarks set under the PPP Act, 2021.
“The PPP Committee of the National Treasury and Economic Planning delivered its decision during its 54th Ordinary PPP Committee meeting held on July 2, 2025,” KeNHA announced. “It was determined that the proposal does not meet the relevant criteria and should be abandoned per Section 43(11)(c) of the PPP Act, 2021.”
Despite the rejection, KeNHA left the door open for a revised submission. The Authority advised Everstrong Capital to restructure the project towards expansion of the existing Nairobi–Mombasa highway rather than building a new expressway from scratch. Once amended, the proposal may be resubmitted for fresh evaluation.
The move, KeNHA emphasized, is consistent with the government’s commitment to transparency. “KeNHA remains committed to strictly adhering to the provisions of the PPP Act, 2021,” the agency assured.
The decision comes just two months after Everstrong Capital’s Senior Advisor, Kyle McCarter, presented a 2,300-page feasibility study to KeNHA, describing it as the most detailed and transparent in the Authority’s history.
“Thanks to the most detailed and transparent feasibility study ever submitted to KeNHA, the Usahihi Expressway has been declared investment-ready and execution-worthy,” McCarter said in May.
For now, the expressway remains in limbo, caught between ambitious vision and stringent compliance. Whether Everstrong Capital can align its dream project with Kenya’s regulatory framework may determine if the long-promised expressway finally breaks ground.
