Ongoing construction of the Nairobi Expressway Uhuru Highway. PHOTO/ NMG

NAIROBI, Kenya Nov 19- Motorists are set to cough up more cash after the State tabled rules, paving the way for the introduction of toll fees along some highways.

The Public Finance Management (National Road Toll Fund) Regulations 2021 seeks to establish the National Roads Toll Fund.

The regulations seek to implement the Public Roads Toll Act, Cap 407, which guides the imposition of toll fees on major national roads.

The Public Roads Toll Act empowers the Transport Cabinet Secretary to declare any road or a portion thereof, including any bridge or tunnel on a public road, as a toll road.

The establishment of the tolling fund sets the stage for motorists to start paying for the use of certain roads.

“There shall be the imposition of tolls, which shall be set in accordance with the Public Roads Toll Act,” the regulations state.

The fees motorists pay for the use of roads jointly developed by the government and private investors under the public-private partnership (PPP) will be deposited into the fund.

The State plans to construct several key highways through the PPP model, including the 243-kilometre Nairobi-Nakuru-Mau Summit and Nairobi’s Southern Bypass, where motorists will pay toll charges when complete.

The Treasury has asked MPs to approve the regulations to enable it to establish a fund into which toll fees and other charges will be paid.

The fund will receive fees or charges imposed on road users accessing toll roads with overloaded axles levied under the Kenya Roads (Kenya National Highways Authority) Regulations 2013, section 58 of the Traffic Act and section 21 of the East African Community Vehicles Load Control Act, 2016.