Ruto Announces KSh300 Million AIIB Funding for Mau Summit-Kisumu-Malaba Road Study
The President made the announcement during a media engagement at Kisumu State Lodge on Monday, September 14, 2026.
Photo: Courtesy.
By Robert Mutasi
President William Ruto has announced that Kenya has secured KSh300 million from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to finance a feasibility study for the proposed Mau Summit-Kisumu-Malaba dual carriageway.
Ruto said the funding would support technical assessments required before the government advances plans to upgrade the road corridor, which is expected to strengthen transport links between Kenya, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The President made the announcement during a media engagement at Kisumu State Lodge on Monday, September 14, 2026.
Ruto said discussions with the AIIB had already resulted in the release of the initial funding for the feasibility study covering the proposed extension from Mau Summit through Kisumu to Malaba, alongside plans for the Nakuru-Eldoret-Malaba route.
“We have already discussed with the Asian Infrastructure Fund, and it has given us the first 300M to do the feasibility to extend that road from Mau Summit-Kisumu-Malaba and the other leg Nakuru-Eldoret-Malaba,” Ruto said.
The proposed Mau Summit-Malaba corridor is expected to become a major component of Kenya’s Northern Corridor infrastructure network. A 243-kilometre section has been proposed for upgrading from the existing two-lane road into a four-lane, access-controlled highway with tolling arrangements under a public-private partnership model.
The feasibility study is expected to examine issues including traffic projections, engineering requirements, environmental and social impacts, climate resilience and the proposed financing and tolling arrangements.
The project comes as the government pursues several major infrastructure investments intended to improve the movement of people and cargo between western Kenya and neighbouring countries.
Ruto also linked the road project to the planned extension of the Standard Gauge Railway to Kisumu and Malaba. He said the government had developed a financing plan for the railway after the project stalled in the Narok area.
“You know very well that the Standard Gauge Railway which is going to be a major infrastructure project, stalled somewhere in Narok, and I undertook to do justice to it. I work with other governments and I can confidently tell the people of Kenya now that we now have a plan,” he said.
The President said Kenya was also engaging Uganda on the proposed railway connection from Malaba into Uganda and eventually the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“We have a funding model that will make it possible for us to construct that SGR from Kisumu to Malaba, and already we are in conversation with Uganda about how it’s going to be connected from Uganda all the way to DRC,” Ruto stated.
The road and railway projects are expected to support trade along the Northern Corridor, which links the Port of Mombasa with Kenya’s hinterland, Uganda and other landlocked countries in the Great Lakes region.
The Mau Summit-Kisumu-Malaba route is particularly important for freight movement because it provides a link between the western part of Kenya and Uganda, where large volumes of cargo are transported by road.
The latest announcement follows talks between Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi and AIIB President Zou Jiayi in Nairobi on September 10, 2026. The discussions covered possible AIIB support for transport, aviation, renewable energy, water and sanitation and rural connectivity projects.
The government has also been seeking financing for other major infrastructure programmes, including the Rironi-Mau Summit road, the modernisation of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and extensions of the SGR network.
AIIB support for the feasibility study marks an early stage in the proposed road expansion. The findings will be used to determine the project’s technical viability, projected costs, financing structure and potential environmental and social implications before the highway can proceed to the next phase.
The proposed investment is also expected to have implications for Eldoret and other towns along the Northern Corridor, particularly if the Nakuru-Eldoret-Malaba link advances alongside the Mau Summit-Kisumu route.
The government has presented the road and railway projects as part of a broader strategy to improve regional connectivity and strengthen Kenya’s position as a transport and logistics hub for East and Central Africa.
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