Roads, rail and energy get boost in Sh23bn transport plan

Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has proposed Sh217.3 billion for roads in the 2025/26 financial year, marking an increase from last year’s Sh193.4 billion as the government steps up investment in transport infrastructure.
While presenting the budget in Parliament, Mbadi said the government is focused on expanding the country’s road, rail, and air transport networks to reduce travel time, cut logistics costs, and improve access to markets.
The road sector allocation includes Sh115.6 billion for maintenance, Sh70.8 billion for rehabilitation, and Sh30.9 billion for the construction of roads and bridges.
Last year, Sh69.5 billion went to maintenance, Sh37.7 billion to rehabilitation, and Sh86.2 billion to road and bridge construction.
In rail and port development, Mbadi proposed Sh37.1 billion for rail transport, Sh600 million for the Kenya Ferry Ramp in Mombasa and ferries for Lake Victoria, and Sh300 million for the Nairobi Bus Rapid Transport Project.
The air transport sector has been allocated Sh300 million for construction and expansion of airstrips. Another Sh300 million has been set aside to promote the e-mobility project.
The entire transport sector had been allocated Sh25.2 billion in the previous financial year.
This included Sh2.4 billion for infrastructure at the Dongo Kundu Special Economic Zone, Sh1 billion for the BRT project, Sh316 million for e-mobility, and Sh239.4 million for the Nairobi Railway City.
In 2024, an additional Sh200 million was proposed for ferries on Lake Victoria to improve transport across inland waters.
To support a reliable energy supply, the government has allocated Sh62.8 billion to scale up renewables, expand the national grid, and shift to clean energy.
Of this, Sh31.6 billion will go to the national grid, Sh16.3 billion to rural electrification, and Sh11.5 billion to geothermal energy.
Alternative energy technologies have been allocated Sh2.1 billion, while Sh700 million will go to development of nuclear energy.
Last year, the energy sector received Sh64 billion, slightly higher than this year’s allocation.
In 2024/25, the government had set aside Sh27.8 billion for the grid, Sh24 billion for rural electrification, Sh14 billion for geothermal energy, Sh2.2 billion for alternative energy technologies, and Sh920 million for nuclear energy.