Superhighway Constructor protests payment

Last Updated 14 years ago by Kenya Engineer

A Chinese firm building the Thika-Nairobi Super Highway has sited protest following delayed payment of $29 million by the government.Synohydro,a state-owned construction firm says it has not been paid funds for works on the second phase of the super highway forcing it to use its own resources to complete the 1.4km section.

The government however says that the delay is as a result of the failure of the project engineers to forward the certificate of completion of works that will indicate the extent of the work done to enable release of funds.

The total cost of the project is said to increase by 20 per cent from the original project following the increase in the cost of materials in the global market. The two lenders of the project, African Development Bank and China Exim Bank had committed slightly more than 80 per cent for the total project cost estimated initially at $317 million. The government of Kenya was to raise the rest of the money.

The delay in payment is however not expected to affect the pace of the highway’s completion. According to the company officials, the highway is now 97 per cent complete.

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