Owners of temporary structures on road reserves in Kenyan cities will be required to pay a minimum fee of Sh3,000 daily under proposed regulations that will also allow the government to lease road reserve space.

And Kenyans will also be expected to pay a one-off fee of Sh50,000 to be allowed to direct storm water into public road drainages.

The charges, proposed in the draft Kenya Roads (Roadside Stations) Regulations, 2023, signal additional burden for families and businesses with homes and premises along the roads.

The fees will be paid on top of what the county governments charge traders and other businesses operating within their jurisdictions.

If approved, a temporary settlement of up to six months will attract Sh100 for every square metre per day with a minimum of Sh3,000 if the road is within cities. Charges outside cities will be Sh50 per square metre daily subject to a minimum of Sh1,000.

Short-term leasing of road reserve space for between six months to four years will require Sh55,000 in application, processing and administrative fees, followed by the annual rent of 15 percent of the unimproved site value and five percent annual rent escalation rate.

The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) is also proposing to start charging a Sh50,000 one-time fee for people seeking to construct access roads to their private premises. This is in addition to Sh5,000 application fees. Those seeking to construct access roads or lanes to their petrol stations will pay Sh200,000 as a one-off fee.

The fees, which will apply for class S, A and B roads, are part of the charges being proposed for roadside developments, which include using any portion of the expansive road reserve across the country.

“Person may upon payment of the requisite fee apply to the Director General of the Road Authority for approval to construct a road to access his premises,” says the draft.

Constructing an access road to a shopping mall, a departmental store or its equivalent will set one back Sh5,000 in application fee, followed by a Sh300,000 one-time charge once the approval is granted.

KeNHA will also allow the leasing of road reserve space to private individuals and businesses for up to 29 years as it seeks to raise money from undeveloped land earmarked for future roads. This could also hurt many informal businesses that have erected shops on road reserves.

Those seeking to lease road reserves within cities for between 10 and 29 years will pay Sh420,000 as application, processing and administrative fees. Charges outside cities will be Sh330,000.

The long-term leases will then attract 15 percent of the unimproved site value as stand premium, followed by annual rent equivalent to 10 percent of the unimproved site value and rent escalation charge of 15 percent of the unimproved site value after every five years.

A five- to nine-year lease will require one to pay Sh310,000 in application, processing and administrative fees. One will incur 15 percent stand premium on the unimproved site value, annual rent equivalent of 10 percent of the unimproved site value and a rent escalation charge of 13 percent of the unimproved site value after every five years

KeNHA is also proposing a Sh5,000 application fee for those seeking to erect any structure on a road reserve. Entities will pay Sh2,000 and Sh18,000 per square metre for non-digital and digital commercial billboards respectively.

There will be a Sh10,000 annual fee for approval to install water and sewerage pipes on road reserves. A similar amount will be paid to install underground power, telephone or fibre optic cables or any other structure on the road reserve. Erecting a communications mast on a road reserve will attract an annual Sh100,000 fee.

Any vertical drilling on a road reserve will attract a Sh2,000 fee per metre, with an annual renewal fee of Sh100,000. There will also be a Sh10,000 fee per metre on the length of a cable or duct placed on a service on the road bridge.

Laying of pipes, ducts or cables not exceeding 0.5 metres in diameter across a bitumen road will attract between Sh80,000 and Sh150,000 in annual fees depending on the classification of the road. Cables exceeding 0.5 metres will attract between Sh120,000 and Sh200,000.