KPA defends Sh8.344b Mombasa port road infrastructure project

 Port of Mombasa. KPA CEO William Ruto says the contractor was constructing a road, bridge and a wall retention to contain hill slopes and drainage systems. [File, Standard]

Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) has defended the ongoing controversial construction of the Sh8.344 billion Port of Mombasa road infrastructure project.

The KPA management argued that the contract for the 1.8 kilometre project was competitively awarded to the lowest bidder and hence cheaper for taxpayers as the highest bidders sought to do it at Sh10 billion.

KPA CEO William Ruto said the contractor was constructing a road, bridge and a wall retention to contain hill slopes as well as drainage systems.

The contractor is also expected to develop a transferring power line, water pipeline and ICT cables in the area. Captain Ruto was responding to claims that the cost of the project had been exaggerated and did not give taxpayers value for their money.

The MD said the project was on schedule as it was 52 per cent complete, with no variation in cost since it was awarded. East African Engineering Consultants (EAEC) are supervising the project.

“The project is not just a road. It is an infrastructure project which involved levelling the hill slope and construction of a retention wall to prevent erosion. We floated an international tender where some bidders wanted to do the project for Sh10 billion. We awarded it to the lowest bidder,”Ruto said.

EAEC resident engineer Stephen Wasike explained that the project which begins from the Gantry workshop to the Gate 18/20 involves a viaduct where a bridge will have to be constructed for One stop centre where Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) pipeline and Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) port scanners will be located.

“The objective of this project is to decongest the port. We are not supposed to interfere with the discharge of the petroleum product at the main pipeline. Construction runs from March 2025 to March 2027,” he said.

According to project documents, the contract was procured through an open international competitive tender after a comprehensive design review completed in 2024. Four international contractors submitted bids ranging between Sh8.3 billion and Sh9.6 billion.

The tender was awarded to a joint venture between Stecol Corporation and Miliki Development Company at a contract sum of Sh8.344 billion, inclusive of VAT, after emerging as the lowest evaluated responsive bidder and is being supervised by EAEC.

KPA says that as of June 2026, the project had achieved 49.3 percent physical progress.

The authority maintained that the project is being implemented under approved governance frameworks, with oversight from the board, the National Treasury, the Ministry of Roads and Transport, and the Office of the Attorney General.

authority emphasized that, due to its complex engineering features—including extensive bridge structures, deep foundations, utility tunnels, critical infrastructure relocations and integrated security installations—the development should be regarded as a major port transport infrastructure project rather than a conventional road expansion. Once completed, KPA says the project is expected to significantly improve operational efficiency, enhance safety and strengthen the long-term competitiveness of the Port of Mombasa.