The Ngong-Naivasha Road flyover in Nairobi was built almost entirely on a concessional loan from the Spanish government, the Kenya Urban Roads Authority has confirmed, closing months of public curiosity over how the Ksh3.8 billion structure was paid for.
The elevated carriageway was commissioned by President William Ruto on June 29, and was financed through a Ksh3.58 billion facility extended by a Spanish state fund set up to back international infrastructure projects. The loan, valued at roughly €25.3 million, came with unusually generous terms: a low single-digit interest rate, a grace period stretching beyond a decade, and a repayment window of close to 40 years.
Construction began in September 2024 and moved faster than initially planned. What was originally slated as a three-year build was delivered in under two, allowing the structure to open well ahead of Nairobi’s preparations for AFCON 2027. The 820-metre elevated road includes a 250-metre bridge section and was built by a Spanish engineering and construction firm, whose involvement reflects the terms attached to the financing arrangement.
Where the Flyover Sits and What It Solves
The structure is located at the Junction Mall intersection, long regarded as one of Nairobi’s most congested points. Its design separates through-traffic on Ngong Road from vehicles turning off toward Naivasha Road and King’ara Road, running four lanes on an elevated deck above six lanes of local traffic below.
Beyond decongesting the junction, the project incorporates pedestrian walkways, dedicated cycling lanes, upgraded street lighting, and stormwater drainage systems intended to reduce flooding in the surrounding area during heavy rains. Traffic engineers involved in the project say the layout was deliberately designed to keep local access traffic — matatus, delivery vehicles, and residents turning into nearby estates — separate from commuters passing straight through on Ngong Road.
Officials expect the new overpass to substantially cut travel times between Ngong and Nairobi’s central business district, while easing access to the Talanta Stadium as the city ramps up infrastructure ahead of the continental football tournament. Public transport operators along the corridor have welcomed the change, noting that the junction has historically added significant delays to peak-hour commutes.
Breaking Down the Cost
The price tag attached to the project has attracted attention of its own. Spread across its 820-metre length, the Ksh3.8 billion cost works out to tens of thousands of shillings for every centimetre of the finished structure. That figure, however, reflects the full scope of the build rather than the cost of concrete alone — covering engineering design, utility relocation, drainage works, lighting installation, traffic management during construction, and landscaping around the completed structure.
Financing experts note that concessional, government-to-government loans of this kind are common in large infrastructure projects across East Africa, allowing recipient governments to spread repayment over decades while easing pressure on annual budgets.
Part of a Wider Infrastructure Push
The Ngong-Naivasha Road flyover is one piece of a broader infrastructure drive now underway in the Kenyan capital. Alongside its commissioning, the government has outlined plans for a Ksh1.6 billion upgrade to State House Road, a roughly Ksh30 billion dualling of the 23.5-kilometre Kiambu Road corridor, and a Ksh45 billion intelligent traffic management system spanning more than 210 signalised junctions across Nairobi.
Together, these projects form part of a wider effort to position Nairobi as a modern, globally competitive capital city ahead of major international events, with road infrastructure identified as a central pillar of that strategy. Officials say further updates on financing and completion timelines for related projects will be released in the coming months.
