Kenyans mock traffic jam on newly built express road

Kenyans online have been complaining about traffic jams on a newly opened expressway in the capital Nairobi.

Some of the pictures shared online show long queues of vehicles on lanes leading up to toll booths on the mostly elevated highway that cuts across the city centre.

Some Kenyans have mocked the situation, while others have been outraged by the apparent gridlock the road was meant to address.

The 27km (16 mile) long highway built by a Chinese company was opened to the public for a “trial phase” on Saturday pending its official launch in a month’s time.

President Uhuru Kenyatta said two weeks ago that this phase would test its usage and "allow us to put final touches on some unfinished sections”.

He also said the road would “help us end the rampant traffic jam that is experienced in Nairobi”.

Built at a cost of $600m (£490m), the highway - which runs from the west side of the capital to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport – is the only toll road in the country.

It is expected to reduce the time to move between the central business district and the airport to just 15 minutes from more than two hours, according to the authorities.

A toll of about $3 per trip for private motorists is being charged.

Kenya did not borrow any cash to build the road, but the contractor is expected to collect toll fees for 27 years and then hand over the project back to the government.

This article originally appeared in BBC News

Photo: BBC/Peter Mwangangi

Blessing Mwangi