Nairobi — President Uhuru Kenyatta says the Nairobi Expressway has proved its worth by by reducing traffic congestion and enhancing mobility during the trial period by motorists.

Speaking after commissioning the highway, President Kenyatta stated that the expressway complements the expansion of the James Gichuru-Rironi road as well as feeding into the newly built Eastern and Western Bypass.

“We dreamt for an end of the traffic gridlock in Nairobi that cost the nation about 5 million in traffic and fuel and the Nairobi Expressway has helped in doing just that,” he said.

He further stated that during the trials, the Nairobi Expressway has proved that it has impacted the manufacturing, tourism, hospitality sectors directly creating job and investment opportunities in the region.

“We have exceeded the number of vehicles that were expected on the Nairobi Expressway during the trial period, the returns may be achieved much sooner than projected,” the head of state pointed out.

President Kenyatta stated that “Infrastructure is our greatest national asset and it will open up more opportunities for Kenya and the region at large.”

“The Nairobi Expressway is a fundamental overhaul of how we finance public projects being the first PPP model and the government will use it as a pivot to bridge infrastructure deficit,” he said.

He observed that the expressway further complements the expansion of the James Gichuru-Rironi road as well as feeding into the newly built Eastern and Western Bypass.

“During the trial period we have exceeded the number of vehicles that were expected to make use of the road and for that we thank our partners for the meticulous execution,” he stated.

The trial phase was meant to assess the project and highlight the challenges it faced and their impact on service delivery.

During this period however, a number of accidents have been reported on the expressway.