China loans Kenya $108 million preferential buyer's credit for North and East Road Bypass Project in Nairobi

In 2008, China Eximbank and the Government of Kenya signed a $108 million preferential buyer's credit (PBC) loan agreement for the Northern and Eastern Bypass Project. The terms of the loan were as follows: 2% interest rate, 7-year grace period, and 15-year maturity. The loan was scheduled for semi-annual repayment in equal installments between January 30, 2015, and July 30, 2023. The purpose of this loan was to finance 85% of the EPC contract worth 740 million RMB with China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC). Construction began on April 18, 2009. The project was completed and delivered to Kenya Urban Roads Authority on March 30, 2012.The project aims to build a 53 km road in Nairobi. The project supported a 21 km northern bypass segment and a 32 km eastern bypass segment. According to Wikipedia, the northern bypass road starts in the neighborhood called Ruaka, approximately 16 kilometres (10 mi), north-west of the central business district of Nairobi, the capital and largest city of Kenya. From there, the road travels in a general easterly direction through Runda. It briefly crosses into Kiambu County, passes underneath Kiambu Road, re-enters Nairobi County and continues to a neighborhood called Marurui. At Marurui, the road takes a north-easterly direction, crosses Kamiti Road, then passes through Kahawa and re-enters Kiambu Couty, to end at the Nairobi Eastern Bypass Highway in Ruiru. The eastern bypass road starts at the junction of the Nairobi–Mombasa Road and Airport North Road, in Embakasi, immediately west of Nairobi International Airport, approximately 12 kilometres (7 mi) south-east of the city centre. The road then loops through the south-eastern suburbs of Nairobi, skirting the northern edges of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, through Ruai. The road then crosses from Nairobi County, into Kiambu County and then turns westwards, passes underneath the Thika Highway, and ends at the Ruiru Kamiti Road, at a place called Ruiru Road Junction.

Number of official sources

7

Number of unofficial sources

10