Data from the Annual Public Roads Program (APRP) by the Kenya Roads Board (KRB) state that local road agencies are expected to spend an estimated Ksh.67.2 billion on road maintenance in the fiscal year to June 2023.
Moreover, the road agencies including the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA), the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA) and the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) are set to maintain 50,978 kilometers of road during the period.
In addition, KeNHA is to receive the largest share of disbursements from KRB at Ksh.27.7 billion ahead of KeRRA and KURA who will receive Ksh.21.6 billion and Ksh.10.1 billion, respectively.
Likewise, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) is expected to receive Ksh.638.3 million to fund road maintenance across National Parks.
Furthermore, the road work maintenance is aimed at prioritizing road asset preservation, restoration, improvement and development, multi-year road projects and support for Big 4 initiatives.
KeRRA has allocated Ksh.62 million per constituency in the year while KWS plans to upgrade 48 kilometers of unpaved roads to bitumen standards.
Nonetheless, over the recent years, KRB and its respective agencies have worked to improve the quality of Kenya’s road network. As a result, the percentage of poor road network has reduced from 59 to 37 per cent.
Also, the road maintenance plans require the approval of the Finance and Roads Cabinet Secretaries.
Nevertheless, the road agencies’ spending is financed through collections from the road maintenance levy which is charged to motorists at Ksh.18 per litre from the purchase of petrol and diesel, respectively.