Mau Summit Expressway: Tender Battles Disrupt Game _Changing Project
The construction of the Sh160 billion highway from Nairobi to Mau Summit has run into headwinds after two foreign firms moved to the Administrative Review Board following the cancellation of the procurement for independent experts.
Timelines for delivery of the Mau Summit Expressway have been blurred, with the project rocked by legal battles over the cancellation of a construction supervision tender.
Construction on the 233-kilometre highway is already off-schedule, having originally been slated to begin in September 2021. The project is now set to experience further delays.
Spanish firm Technica Y Proyectos, S.A in consortium with Gibb Africa Ltd rushed to the board on Monday after Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) notified it of the cancellation of tender for the independent expert who will supervise the construction of the road.
The termination was announced on December 24 on grounds that the evaluation process has been invalidated by the lapse of the statutory period. In the notification, the State agency said the delay was occasioned by the dissenting opinions among the evaluation committee members.
But the Spanish firm through the law firm of Kihara & Wayne Advocates said it believes that it was unfairly denied the tender, having attained the highest combined score, in breach of the Constitution.
The firm says KeNHA ought to have concluded the evaluation process strictly under the request for proposals.
“That the first respondent (KeNHA) by terminating the procurement has failed to promote and enforce transparency, effective management and accountability contrary to section 44(2)(e) if the Public Procurement and Assets Disposal Act, 2015,” reads part of the court filings.
