The signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Meru County and Malaysian company, Probase Manufacturing Sdn. Bhd in September 2014 has borne its first fruit with the completion and opening of 8.5 kilometre road. The Kanjai –Miathene-Mikinduri Road built using soil technology from Malaysia was officially opened on 24th June 2015 by the Governor of Meru H.E Peter Munya in the Presence of other five Governors, several Deputy Governors, H.E High Commissioner of Malaysia in Kenya, representative from the government, business community and members of the public.
Meru County which is of one the 47 counties in Kenya was established after the promulgation of the new constitution in 2010 signed an MOU with Probase Manufacturing Sdn. Bhd of Malaysia in September 2014 to construct 10 kilometres pilot project road at cost of USD 3.6 million financed by the Meru County. However, upon request by the County Government of Meru, the opening ceremony of the road took place when only 8.5 kilometers was complete with the other section expected to be completed in due course.
Kenya depends heavily on road for passenger and cargo transportation. However, majority of roads are unpaved and some the paved one are not well maintained due to high costs. For instance, road construction in Kenya using conventional methods costs between Ksh 70-80 million (US$ 736,845.00 – US$ 842,100.00) per kilometre while Probase technology will cost around Kshs 30 million (US$ 315,789.00).
The completion of the pilot project and the opening of the new road using alternative technology at cheaper rate and short duration heralds a new chapter in road construction in Meru in particular and Kenya at large. A number of Governors present during the opening ceremony expressed their interests in the technology and have requested the directors of the Malaysian company to visit their counties to discuss further about this technology. So far the Malaysian company has entered into negotiation with counties such as Sumburu, Embu, Nandi and Isiolo to undertake pilot project in these counties.
The President of Republic of Kenya visited Meru in April this year and was taken on tour of this road construction where he expressed keen interest on the technology and requested the company to open discussion with relevant department with view to undertaking more works. According to the company, they are still discussing with the relevant departments on the modes of operations. Following the Pilot Project, apart from a potential contract to build another 200 kilometers of road in Meru, Probase Sdn. Bhd also is in talk with the Government of the Kingdom of Swaziland for the same Pilot Project worth US$ 3,000,000 as well as in discussion for potential road construction projects with the Government of the Republic of Rwanda.
The High Commissioner of Malaysia was also invited to deliver a Keynote Address at Meru International Investment Conference on 26th June 2015. 300 representatives attended the Conference including H.E William Ruto, Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya, Governor of Meru, H.E Peter Munya and numbers of investors from Britain, USA, China and several other foreign countries.
In his Keynote, H.E High Commissioner shared Malaysia’s experience in Public-Private Partnership (PPP) practices and offering assistance to county governments whom interested to learn more about the initiatives. H.E High Commissioner elaborated on the nature off PPP which adopted pro-business strategy where the private sector plays an important role in stimulating economic growth while the public sector ensures overall macroeconomic stability and conducive environment for both foreign and domestic investments. In this spirit, Public Private Partnership Unit (Unit Kerjasama Awam-Swasta - UKAS) was established in April 2009 under the Prime Minister's Department to further spearhead private sector participation and stimulate private sector investment through PPP in the national development agenda. UKAS was tasked with the responsibility to plan, evaluate, coordinate, negotiate and monitor the implementation of PPP projects. It also manages and evaluates projects that require funding from the Facilitation Fund, a Fund specially established to stimulate private sector investment and bridge the viability gap of projects that have strategic impact. UKAS was also responsible in providing advisory services on the PPP projects at Federal and State level as well as administering five regional Corridor Development Projects throughout the nation
The success of Probase Manufacturing Sdn. Bhd in road construction in Kenya should stimulate other Malaysian infrastructure development companies to consider penetrating in this market as it offers huge potential.
Malawakil Nairobi
26 June 2015
