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The project is part of a joint programme between Nairobi City County and the national government, delivered through the Kenya Urban Roads Authority. The wider plan is aimed at upgrading roads, improving drainage, and ensuring the city can better handle extreme weather while supporting movement within key urban areas.
Appearing before the Senate Committee on Cohesion and Equal Opportunities on Monday, the agency not only presented staffing numbers but also outlined how it is aligning its operations with constitutional requirements on diversity, fairness, and equal opportunity.
PS Mohamed Daghar says the wider plan is designed to respond to increasing pressure on Nairobi’s road network, driven by population growth, urban expansion, and rising demand for daily travel.
Auditor General Nancy Gathungu, in a report for the period ending June 30, 2025, details how weak management of pending bills, delayed payments, and irregular contract variations has pushed avoidable losses beyond Sh7 billion.
KURA said the interruptions will mainly occur in the evenings and at night, from 6 pm to 2 am, when crews will be carrying out concreting work on the flyover deck.
Governors and senators argue that transferring funds directly to counties would streamline project delivery, boost accountability, and allow local governments to maintain and upgrade roads more effectively.
Planned developments include footpaths on both sides of Ngong Road, a dual carriageway with pedestrian walkways linking Ngong Road to Cemetery Road, and a bridge at the Southern Bypass interchange. Another bridge will also be built across Ngong Road to facilitate smoother traffic flow.
KURA stated that the State House Road project is part of a larger programme to rehabilitate 93 roads across the country, with a total budget of Sh15.6 billion. Other major roads included in the plan are Mfangano Ring Road, Mathare access roads, Casuarina Road in Kilifi, Kagio-Kanharu-Kathaka Road, and Nakuru town’s East Roads.
The joint exercise came after locals submitted a petition saying the road had slowly become unsafe due to poor lighting, damaged guardrails, blocked drainage and incomplete footbridges. They said the deterioration had led to accidents, insecurity and areas where pedestrians felt exposed.
The origins of the dispute trace back to October 2013, when the first Task Force Report recommended the transfer of devolved responsibilities. This position was reinforced by the 11th National and County Government Coordination Summit in December 2024. Senators argued that the persistence of these agencies in devolved activities has led to overlapping projects, including those funded by the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NGCDF).
The project is part of the broader Ngong Road corridor development, which includes the construction of a dual carriageway and an 800-metre-long bridge.
Members probed the authority on oversight, project execution, and the overall quality of roads maintained under the fund.