Tarmac laid on Kenya's Rironi–Naivasha road, built by China Road and Bridge Corporation, ahead of 30 October target

Tarmac is being laid on the Rironi–Naivasha section of Kenya's Rironi–Mau Summit highway, The Star reported on 7 October. Luka Kimeli, director general of the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA), watched the work on the approach road to the Ngarariga Interchange on Tuesday during an inspection, the paper said.

Roads and Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir said on 9 September that the section would be finished by 30 October, Kenyans.co.ke reported on 10 September. "By October 30 this year, from Rironi to Naivasha, we will have completed the dualling, and people will be able to pass smoothly," he said. The Star said Chirchir has put completion of the wider Rironi–Mau Summit corridor at June 2027.

Capital FM reported on 10 September that China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) is building the Rironi–Gilgil section, including the Rironi–Maai Mahiu–Naivasha link. Shandong Hi-Speed Road and Bridge International Engineering Company is building the Gilgil–Nakuru–Mau Summit section, the station said. Kenyans.co.ke also named CRBC for the Rironi–Naivasha section and said Shandong Hi-Speed was expected to build the Gilgil–Mau Summit section.

The project is a public-private partnership in which CRBC and Kenya's National Social Security Fund (NSSF) are partners, according to Capital FM. The Standard reported on 28 November 2025 that President William Ruto had launched the project that day at Kamandura in Kiambu County. Capital FM said the first phase covers about 139 kilometres.

Kenyans.co.ke reported that the Rironi–Naivasha section is being widened to four lanes and the Naivasha–Mau Summit section to six, on a road 175 kilometres long. The 58-kilometre Rironi–Maai Mahiu–Naivasha stretch is part of the Northern Corridor linking Mombasa to Uganda and other East African Community states, Capital FM reported on 5 November 2025. The Standard reported on 28 November 2025 that the highway carried an estimated 20,000 vehicles a day.

KeNHA said an earlier public-private partnership agreement for the road, signed with Rift Valley Highway Limited in 2020, was terminated in May 2025 over affordability concerns and financing gaps, Capital FM reported on 5 November 2025. The same report named the CRBC and NSSF consortium as the preferred proponent for the negotiations that followed.

On tolls, Capital FM reported on 10 September that KeNHA had proposed KSh 8 per kilometre on the Rironi–Naivasha–Gilgil and Rironi–Maai Mahiu–Naivasha roads. That is about US$0.06 at the Central Bank of Kenya's rate of KSh 129.45 to the dollar on 10 September. Kenyans.co.ke reported that motorists were expected to pay KSh 8.50 per kilometre from Naivasha to Mau Summit.

In November 2025, Kimeli, then acting KeNHA director general, said alternative roads would be identified from Rironi to Mau Summit for people who did not want to pay, The Standard reported on 28 November 2025.