A BRT section of Thika Superhighway/FILE AN audit report has exposed delayed payments and unresolved contractor claims as the main impediments delaying the execution of Nairobi’s Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) programme. This comes with mounting interest costs running into billions of shillings for the stalled Thika Superhighway project.
According to the Auditor-General, the Nairobi Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (NaMATA) has accumulated Sh2.5 billion in trade and other payables, which includes short-term debts owed to suppliers for inventory, raw materials and supplies bought on credit.
This is more than double the Sh1.563 billion reported a year earlier, placing the authority under severe financial strain and raising questions about its ability to deliver the capital-intensive mass transit programme. The audit for the year ended June 30, 2025 shows that Sh2.449 billion, or 98 per cent of the outstanding debt, had remained unpaid for more than three years.
A significant portion is owed to the contractor undertaking the design and construction of BRT facilities along the Thika Superhighway Corridor. The contractor suspended works on January 11, 2022 after NaMATA failed to make payments, effectively freezing a project expected to transform public transport along one of Nairobi’s busiest corridors.
The project was awarded at a contract price of Sh5.575 billion. Although Sh3.108 billion worth of work had been certified as completed, the value of work in progress remained unchanged over successive financial years. The prolonged delay has also significantly increased the project’s cost.
The Auditor-General found that Sh1.039 billion of NaMATA’s outstanding payables represented interest accrued on delayed payments for certificates issued for the Thika Road BRT project. The authority is also facing Sh745.1 million in contingent liabilities arising from contractor claims linked to delayed approval of drawings, delayed land acquisition and suspension of works.
Together, the interest and claims amount to Sh1.784 billion, equivalent to about 32 per cent of the original contract price.