Bid to rip off billions in JKIA-Uhuru Highway-UNEP road scam

Dark clouds are hanging over the rehabilitation of JKIA-Uhuru Highway-Gigiri road with claims that tendering procedures were not followed when the tender was awarded to Shengli Engineering and Consulting Company of China. Of great concern now is a claim that the total project cost is Shs.4.5b and not Shs. 2.16b as alleged by the ministry officials while other conflicting statements say that the Chinese government scaled down the amount of money it had initially promised, thus pushing the project into limbo.

According to the project specifications, the contractor was to undertake the widening of the dual carriageway between Jomo Kenyatta International Airport-Uhuru Highway-UNEP (headquarters), reducing roundabouts on Uhuru highway and improving street and traffic lights along the same corridor.

The big question that begs for answers is when the project tendering was done and how the project sum was arrived at. Road engineers now say the Shs. 4.5b allocated to this road is on the higher side and it is estimated that it can construct a road of 9m wide, 80 kilometre long. It
is estimated that the same amount can construct a new road from Kisumu to Panpaper mills Webuye.

The JKIA-Uhuru Highway-Gigiri road is estimated to be about 50km and what the contractor on site is doing is merely widening the road to create one more lane on both side and laying DBM and asphalt. Investigations further reveal that the work being done on the road is sub-standard leaving people wondering if the company has a supervisor (resident engineer) to ensure quality materials are used.

A number of concerned roads engineers who spoke to us on strict condition of anonymity wondered why the contractor was not repairing the cracks in the existing surface before laying the new layer saying that if the alligator cracks, it will propagate to the top in just under four years. It is therefore recommended that the contractor should first repair the cracks before putting on a new layer.

It is further alleged that the contractor is doing shoddy job between JKIA and Nyayo Stadium roundabout where blocks are used rather than using kerbstones. To show how substandard these material are, already backfilled widened areas have been left exposed between Firestone and Belleview turnoff.

Even as the controversy over the total cost of the project continues, it is now emerging that President Mwai Kibaki presided over the signing of additional funding for the road at a
ceremony at State House Nairobi witnessed by a Jia Qinglin, the Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Kibaki and Qinglin officially launched Construction work of the road at Nyayo National Stadium Nairbbi West on 26th April, 2007.

Back to the JKIA-Uhuru Highway-UNEP road, we have gathered that the construction of the 22 km highway was to be wholly financed by the Chinese government under a deal struck between President Kibaki and President Hu Jintao.

China had initially promised to provide Sh5.3 billion, but this had been scaled down to only Sh2.2 billion. Roads engineers said this amount of money can only cover the construction of an additional lane on both sides of the highway and set up the street lights.

What is further causing more confusion is a claim that the contractor, Shengli Engineering and Consulting Company of China had agreed to do the work only after issuing a number of conditions to be met by the ministry which included addition of Shs 300m before they moved to the site.

We have also established that Shengli Engineering and Consulting Company of China enjoys support, in the last government and won more tenders. Apart from the JKIA-Uhuru Highway-UNEP Road the company also won an international tender for capacity enhancement of the Nairobi - Eldoret Pipeline System in June last year at a cost of Shs.263m. The projet that involves construction of a new parallel pipeline from Mombasa to Eldoret which upon completion is envisaged to increase the flow-rate from the current 220,0000 litres per hour to 440,000 litres per hour.