Madagascar’s Ministry of Public Works has awarded a US$1 billion contract to build the country’s first toll highway to Kenya’s Gabeire A Group.

The 250km road will link the capital Antananarivo to the port city of Toamasina on Madagascar’s Indian Ocean coast.

The Antananarivo-Toamasina highway will allow the distance between the two cities to be covered in 2.5 hours, compared to 8-10 hours over the 370km of the current RN2. It will benefit economic activity, particularly in the manufacturing and industrial sectors, and thousands of service jobs are targeted to be created.

The work will include building four lane intersections with an interchange in Tananarive, an interchange at the intersection of the RN4, an interchange in Brickaville, an interchange in Toamasina, and four ramps connecting Ambatondrazaka and two others towards Brickaville.

The extension work at the Port of Toamasina is intended to increase port traffic by 1 million containers and position Madagascar as a major port in East Africa and a maritime hub of the Indian Ocean.

In a post on the social media platform X, Rebecca Miano, cabinet secretary, Ministry of Investments, Trade & Industry wrote, "Today marks a momentous occasion as I join Gabeire A Group, a Kenyan company, in celebrating a significant milestone in African infrastructure development. ...We commemorate the beginning of construction for a multibillion-dollar project - a 250km road to bitumen standard, linking Antananarivo to Toamasina in Madagascar."

She added, "Gabeire A Group secured the contract after successful bidding for this monumental project, valued at US$1 billion and funded by the World Bank. This achievement underscores Kenya's prowess and capability in infrastructure development and investment expertise."