The Rironi-Mau Summit highway project includes proposed toll charges under a 30-year PPP arrangement.
The PPP Petition Committee struck out COFEK’s challenge to proposed highway tolls after finding that the consumer lobby missed the seven-day filing deadline.
The Public Private Partnership (PPP) Petition Committee has dismissed COFEK’s petition challenging proposed Mau Summit tolls of Ksh8 per kilometre. The committee found that the Consumers Federation of Kenya filed its challenge outside the statutory deadline.
The PPP Act gives anyone challenging a decision relating to a PPP project seven days to submit a petition. The committee struck out the consumer lobby’s case on that procedural ground.
Why the Mau Summit tolls petition failed
The committee also noted that COFEK did not identify when the Kenya National Highways Authority issued its project disclosure document. However, it established that the document existed before stakeholder consultations began on September 2, 2025.
On that basis, the committee found that COFEK had filed its petition beyond the legally prescribed period. The ruling therefore turned on the filing deadline rather than an assessment of the proposed charges.
COFEK had sought an order compelling KeNHA to release tolling plans, feasibility studies, procurement records and public participation reports. It also wanted the committee to examine those documents and assess the government’s compliance with the PPP Act.
The lobby argued that the disclosure document inadequately explained how KeNHA would calculate toll tariffs. Its concerns also covered toll-free alternatives, affordability and the allocation of financial risks.
Proposed charges and highway expansion
KeNHA plans to operate the Rironi-Mau Summit highway as a toll road under a 30-year PPP arrangement. Its disclosure notice outlined charges for motorists using both the Rironi-Naivasha-Gilgil and Rironi-Mai Mahiu-Naivasha routes.
Under the proposed rates, motorists travelling between Rironi and Naivasha would pay Ksh8 per kilometre. Meanwhile, the rate for travel from Naivasha towards Mau Summit would stand at Ksh8.50 per kilometre.
China Road and Bridge Corporation is undertaking the first phase of the Ksh200 billion project, covering Rironi to Naivasha. Shandong Hi-Speed Road and Bridge International Engineering is handling the Gilgil-Mau Summit section.
The expansion will widen the existing two-lane highway to four lanes between Rironi and Naivasha. The Naivasha-Mau Summit section will subsequently expand to six lanes.
