Comments on the Request for Proposal (RFP) Stage Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) Report for the Rironi-Nakuru-Mau Summit Highway
- Category: Policy Research & Analysis
- Date 30-01-2026
The proposed upgrading of the Rironi–Nakuru–Mau Summit Highway is one of Kenya’s most ambitious infrastructure projects, intended to improve mobility, trade efficiency, and regional connectivity along the Northern Corridor. Planned as a public–private partnership (PPP), the project involves the expansion and rehabilitation of the existing A8 and A8 South roads, transforming long sections into four-lane carriageways over a combined distance of more than 230 kilometres. However, the National Environment Civil Society Alliance of Kenya (NECSA-K) has raised significant concerns regarding the adequacy of the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) conducted at the Request for Proposal (RFP) stage.
NECSA-K, an umbrella body representing over 100 civil society organizations working in environmental and natural resource management, notes that the scale and complexity of the project place it firmly within the category of high-risk developments under Kenya’s Environmental Management and Coordination Act (EMCA) requiring it to undergo a full and rigorous ESIA process, accompanied by meaningful public participation and comprehensive environmental and social safeguards.
This article looks at some of the comments that NECSA Kenya generated on proposals for the A8/A8 South Highway project. The detailed memorandum can be downloaded here.
The Government of the Republic of Kenya, through the Ministry of Transport, infrastructure, housing, urban development and Public Works represented by the Kenya National Highways Authority (KENHA), being a state corporation established under the Kenya Roads Act, 2007 identified the need for the rehabilitation, improvement and expansion of the Nairobi – Nakuru – Mau Summit (A8) highway which serves as an access and transportation link for approximately 6 million Kenyans.
This project largely contributes to the realization and implementation of the PPP agenda in Kenya through the delivery of first – class infrastructure projects capable of meeting social and economic requirements of the people of Kenya in a timely, transparent and accountable manner as envisioned in the Vision 2030 blue print and the Big Four Agenda. The Nairobi-Nakuru-Mau Summit highway shall be developed along the following precepts; the A8 Road component will be widened and rehabilitated from two lanes to four lane carriageways along the existing alignment from Rironi to Mau Summit (175 km) while the A8 South Road component will involve the rehabilitation of the existing 58km 2 lanes A8 South from Rironi to Naivasha. The scale of the project can be categorized under High Risk Projects under Legal Notice No. 31 of the Environmental Management and Coordination Act (No. 8 Of 1999) Amendment of the Second Schedule of the EMCA 1999. Therefore, this project must be subjected to a full Environment and Impact Assessment (EIA) process.
The NECSA-K Alliance notes that the highway will pass through sensitive ecosystems which could result into negative impacts.
These ecosystems include:
- Forests
Kikuyu Escarpment Forest Reserve - a significant water catchment area
- Conservancies
- Marula
- Kigio
- Soysambu
- Protected Areas
- Lake Naivasha
- Lake Elementaita
- Lake Nakuru
- Koibatek Forest
- Mount Londiani
- Tinderet Forest
- Timboroa Forest
NECSA-K would like to flag the following areas:
- Londiani Forest
- Naivasha Wildlife Sanctuary
- Salgaa (Rongai River crossing)
- Soysambu Conservancy. (Meroronyi, Mbaruk river crossings)
If the project is implemented without due care, these sensitive ecosystems will be altered, resulting in loss of biodiversity, habitat alteration and loss of or change in wildlife migration patterns.
The NECSA-K Alliance reviewed the RFP (Request for Proposal) Stage Environment and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) report produced by the Kenya National Highways Authority (KENHA) and made a few comments in regard to development along sensitive flora and fauna habitats. The detailed report is available for reading and download here.