Get a KeNHA wayleave to lay pipes, cables or fibre in a highway road reserve
Kenya National Highways Authority · sources read 3 Oct 2026
Apply online on the KeNHA Permits Portal: choose Utility, upload your engineering drawings and coordinates, then pay after approval. Laying pipes, ducts or cables up to 0.5 m wide costs KSh 100,000 per lane on a Class A road and KSh 80,000 on a Class B road.
- Fee
- KSh 100,000Pipes, ducts or cables up to 0.5 m diameter, per lane, Class A roadKSh 80,000Pipes, ducts or cables up to 0.5 m diameter, per lane, Class B roadKSh 150,000Pipes, ducts or cables over 0.5 m diameter, per lane, Class A roadKSh 120,000Pipes, ducts or cables over 0.5 m diameter, per lane, Class B roadKSh 5,000Trenching along the road, per km
- How long
- About 15 working days
- Where
- Online on the KeNHA Permits Portal (permits.kenha.co.ke). Questions: your nearest KeNHA region office or kenhapermits@kenha.co.ke
What you need
- Detailed engineering layout drawings on a geo-referenced map (UTM, Arc 1960) showing cadastral (plot) data
- Longitudinal profile and cross-sections of trenches, road crossings, junctions and manholes, with coordinates
- A list of coordinates (Excel or CSV)
Steps
- Confirm with your nearest KeNHA office which region or corridor and which road your line will run on.
- Register or log in on the KeNHA Permits Portal (permits.kenha.co.ke), select Utility (water, sewer, power, fibre optic) and pick the region and road.
- Say how the line will run: under the road, along the road, or overhead across it. Attach your drawings and submit.
- After vetting, the KeNHA region or corridor office contacts you to book a field visit to check the details.
- Once approved, you get a payment advice. Pay by bank deposit or M-Pesa using its details, then wait to be told the approval letter is ready.
Watch out
- If your line crosses more than one KeNHA region or corridor, apply separately in each one.
- Fees are charged per lane, and trenching along the road adds KSh 5,000 per km.
- KeNHA only handles national trunk roads (highways). Other roads are not covered by this permit.
Who can apply
- Anyone laying communication (fibre), power, water or sewer lines in a KeNHA highway road reserve.
Official sources (4)
- KeNHA Service Delivery Charter kenha.co.ke · read 3 Oct 2026
- Guideline for Roadside Development Control/Way Leave Online Applications kenha.co.ke · read 3 Oct 2026
- FAQs kenha.co.ke · read 3 Oct 2026
- KeNHA Permits Portal permits.kenha.co.ke · read 3 Oct 2026