Kenya’s Nairobi-Mombasa highway faces delays as legislators fret over debt
Nairobi — Kenya’s second-biggest infrastructure project since independence five decades ago, a $3.5bn inter-city expressway, will be delayed because legislators are worried the country is taking on too much debt, the company building it has said. While Kenya is ramping up construction of much-needed infrastructure to underpin economic growth, the cost of the mega projects, mostly financed by Chinese loans, has stirred concern that the debt is unsustainable for the $71bn economy. Kenya’s debt could rise to 58% of gross domestic product by the end of June, from 40.6% in the 2011-12 fiscal year, according to World Bank estimates. Construction of the 473km, four-lane highway between the capital, Nairobi, and the second-biggest city, Mombasa, will be undertaken by San Francisco-based Bechtel Group, which has arranged commercial loans for Kenya to undertake the project. The country will not seek concessional financing or a public-private partnership, according to the company. The Kenya Na...
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