A motorcyclist navigates through heavy traffic along Thika Road / VICTOR IMBOTO
The Samsung Construction and Trading Corporation is poised to start building an advanced traffic management system in Nairobi aimed at reducing road congestion within the city.
Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has stated that Nairobi incurs an annual loss of roughly Sh120 billion because of traffic congestion.
Following the agreement of a $61 million KES 7.88 billion contract between the South Korean company and the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) in November of last year, this has taken place.
This sum will fund the initial stage of establishing the Nairobi Intelligent Transport System and improving junctions under the project.
The company secured the global bid for the initiative, launched by Kura—the governmental body managing the venture—in 2023.
The Nairobi Intelligent Transport System (ITS) project encompasses the development of the Traffic Management Centre (TMC) facility at City Cabanas along Mombasa Road, as well as the deployment of intelligent traffic management solutions across 25 key intersections.
This will also encompass the setup of smart outdoor devices like traffic lights, signal regulators, crossroad monitoring cameras, vehicle enforcement systems, along with establishing a communications network.
The Nairobi ITS initiative will encompass the enhancement and alteration of crucial intersections within Nairobi, such as those at Moi Avenue/Kenyatta Avenue, Koinange Street/Kenyatta Avenue, Mbagathi Way/Lang'ata Road, and Limuru Road/Muthaiga Road, along with several others.
The initiative, funded via the Export-Import Bank of Korea under the Economic Development Cooperation Fund, is scheduled to commence this month and conclude by February 2027.
The Cabinet Secretary for Roads and Transport, Davis Chirchir, instructed both Samsung and KURA to accelerate the execution of the project.
"I encourage you to depreciate the cameras and associated infrastructure so that they continue to benefit the nation for many years. Ensure that the system installed can easily integrate with upcoming technologies and additional components," Chirchir stated.
The Intelligent Transportation System employs artificial intelligence for managing city traffic. This system incorporates advanced smart cameras, adaptive traffic signals with adjustable timings, along with a central monitoring facility to oversee and regulate vehicular flow, thus reducing the workload of traffic enforcement personnel.
The system can analyze traffic flow data in real-time, thereby enabling smoother traffic movement on roads with heavier traffic, consequently reducing wait times.
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