CONSULTANT FIRM FOR PRE-FEASIBILITY STUDY ON UPGRADING THE MAU SUMMIT – ELDORET – MALABA ROAD ON A PPP BASIS

ASIAN INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT BANK (AIIB) TENDER NOVEMBER 2025 

CONSULTANT FIRM FOR PRE-FEASIBILITY STUDY ON UPGRADING THE MAU SUMMIT – ELDORET – MALABA ROAD ON A PPP BASIS

1. Background

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), a multilateral development bank established in January 2016, finances sustainable infrastructure to foster development across its member states. AIIB’s Mission is to finance infrastructure for tomorrow, with a clear thematic focus on (i) green infrastructure (ii) connectivity and regional cooperation (iii) technology enabled infrastructure and (iv) private capital mobilization.

Kenya’s long-term development strategy, Vision 2030, is implemented through sequential five-year Medium-Term Plans and aims to transform the country into a middle-income economy offering a high quality of life to its citizens. Central to this vision is the modernization of infrastructure to boost competitiveness and improve livelihoods.

The Fourth Medium-Term Plan (MTP IV), covering 2023-2027, sets out the government’s strategic approach to transitioning Kenya into an upper-middle-income country with investments in infrastructure identified as a key priority.

In the infrastructure sector, government has identified the need to enhance transport connectivity by constructing 6,000km of new roads, maintenance of rural and urban road networks, upgrading of rail, air and seaport facilities and services; expansion of communication and broadcasting systems; and increased investments in renewable energy generation and distribution.

The implementation of MTP IV will require approximately KSh. 16,136 billion (around USD125 billion at prevailing exchange rates). To meet this funding requirement, the government seeks to mobilize resources from diverse financing sources, with Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) targeted to deliver 12% of the investment gap approximately KSh 1,936 billion (or USD 15 billion prevailing exchange rates). Through PPPs, the government aims to harness private sector capital, innovation, and efficiencies to accelerate the rollout of priority infrastructure.

As part of this strategy, the government has prioritized the decongestion of its highways through PPP based construction, development, operation and maintenance. Among their priority projects is the upgrade and capacity enhancement of the Mau Summit – Malaba Road (the ‘Project’).

Following a request from the National Treasury of the Republic of Kenya, AIIB (the “Client”) is seeking to support the National Treasury and the Kenyan National Highways Authority in the implementation of this Project.

2. Project Description 

Kenya’s transport sector is a key driver of trade, regional integration, and economic growth. The country’s 177,800-kilometer road network carries over 76% of all annual freight in the country. The Northern Corridor is a key part of this road network and serves as one of East Africa’s busiest trade routes. This road links the Port of Mombasa to Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan, and the DRC sees nearly 3000 daily trucks moving over 35 million tons of cargo annually. Freight volumes are expected to rise further with regional integration efforts like the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement (AfCFTA).

However, road infrastructure quality and safety remain constraints. In 2018, 24% of Northern Corridor roads in Kenya were in poor condition. Due to poor road quality and congestion, transit between Mombasa and the Malaba border with Uganda can exceed 100 hours, which is well above the government target of 78 hours. Furthermore, this corridor sees high accident rates with over 4000 annual road accident deaths, underscoring the need for infrastructure upgrades and improvements.

In light of these challenges, the Government of Kenya (GoK) intends to upgrade the 243-kilometer Mau Summit Malaba highway, convert it into an access-controlled tolled road and expand its capacity from 2 lanes to 4 lanes. The strategic transport route is part of the Northern Corridor connecting western Kenya and Uganda, and will complement the upstream Nairobi Mau Summit highway already under procurement. The highway is also one of 9 roads that constitute the Trans-African Highway Network, a continental development policy coordinated by the African Union. The PPP Directorate of the National Treasury has a mandate to structure PPP projects. The implementing agency, Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA), has secured the right-of-way for much of the corridor and is coordinating with the Ministry of Finance and development partners to structure the project transparently. While previous feasibility work has been done for the Nairobi–Mau Summit section, no comparable technical, financial, or environmental assessments have been completed for the Mau Summit–Malaba segment. These are the main focuses of this Pre-Feasibility study.

3. Objectives of the assignment

As a first step in AIIB’s support for the Clients, AIIB is seeking to engage a firm (“Consultant”) on a short-term basis to help develop the foundational scope of the Project and asses the PPP enabling environment in Kenya with a view to preliminarily determining the viability of implementing the Project under a PPP delivery model.

Based on their expertise, market insight, desktop research, site visit(s), and stakeholder engagements, the Consultant is expected to assist AIIB by:

• reconciling the Government of Kenya’s objectives on this Project to their strategic objectives;
• assessing the institutional, regulatory and legal frameworks governing PPPs;
• providing an overview of potential PPP delivery models and their potential constraints;
• evaluating the current condition of existing infrastructure assets and outline a preliminary scope;
• outlining the proposed alignment, technical scope and key performance indicators and
• providing high-level estimates of the potential cost of implementing the Project and cost recovery strategy and determining indicative revenues.
• Initial Social and Environmental Examination consistent with AIIB guidelines and highlighting potential synergies between this project and improvements of living conditions of communities along the road.
• Preliminarily assessing needs in terms design and materials to cope with climate change and extreme weather events, particularly on pavement, slope protections and drainage.
• Preliminarily assessing the potential for development of roadside stations and deployment of electric vehicle charging stations.
• Identifying key area for further investigation in a full feasibility study.

The outputs from the Consultant’s study will include an outline technical scope of the Project, an assessment of potential constraints in relation to the institutional and regulatory framework and the PPP delivery models, and identification of the additional investigations, analysis and studies required for a detailed feasibility study to be conducted at a subsequent stage.

In conducting its work, the Consultant shall work closely with the Clients and the AIIB project team in ensuring the project scope is compliant with the Paris Agreement and Kenya’s Second National Determined Contributions. The Consultant shall also ensure that the proposed project scope is aligned with AIIB’s mandate of supporting Infrastructure for Tomorrow (i4t) and at least one of AIIB’s thematic priorities as identified in the Corporate Strategy (which includes green infrastructure, technology-enabled infrastructure, regional connectivity and integration, and private capital mobilization). Finally, the consultant is expected to actively transfer knowledge to the GoK and AIIB teams.

4. Deliverables

All deliverables must be made available simultaneously to AIIB, KeNHA and the PPP Directorate in soft copies. Hard copies of the Final Report must be delivered at the following addresses:

Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA)

Barabara Plaza, Airport North Road, Opposite KCAA.

P.O. Box number: 49712 – 00100

Nairobi. Kenya.

Public Private Partnerships Directorate

Kenya-Re Plaza, 6th Floor, Taifa Rd

P.O. Box 30007-00100

Nairobi, Kenya

• Inception Report: A detailed work plan outlining consultants preparedness, methodology, timelines, roles and key activities, data collection approach, identification of key stakeholders and consultation plan, preliminary list of required additional data and studies. The report is to be delivered within 2 weeks of contract commencement and provided in both Portable Document Format (PDF) and editable MS Word format.
• Preliminary Assessment Report: A summary of initial reviews, baseline findings and emerging observations from the scope of work. The report should also cover the following:

1. a)Comparative assessment with the alternate route.
2. b)Needs assessment (traffic, socio-economic drivers, demand forecasts).
3. c)High-level socio-economic justification and cost–benefit rationale.
4. d)Baseline technical assessment of existing road infrastructure and performance levels.
5. e)Initial environmental and social screening and identification of major risks
6. f)Initial review of regulatory, institutional, and legal frameworks for PPP delivery
7. g)Summary of engagements with key stakeholders critical for project implementation.

The report is to be delivered within 4 weeks of approval of the Inception Report and provided in MS PowerPoint presentation or MS Word format and Portable Document Format (PDF).

• Final Report: A comprehensive report covering all the activities undertaken, setting out the key findings in relation to each of the tasks and highlighting lessons learned. The report is to be delivered within 8 weeks of the approval of the Preliminary Assessment Report and is to be provided in PDF and MS word document format, with the financial model provided in MS excel format, and a summary of the report delivered in a presentation format. 2 hard copies of these documents must be delivered to KeNHA and 2 hard copies to the PPP directorate.

The timelines set out above and the format of the report may be amended subject to approval of the AIIB project team leader. The reports shall be drafted in English.

Access the detailed ToR Here: https://www.developmentaid.org/tenders/view/1556046/aiib-request-for-proposal-consulting-firm