List of All Chinese Projects in Kenya

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is the centerpiece of China’s foreign policy.

Through the initiative, China has made headway in its quest to be the fore global power.

China embarked on a project funding spree in Africa as seen in the massive infrastructure development on the continent.

Kenya is one of Africa’s largest recipients of China’s infrastructural repertoire. The following are the Chinese projects in Kenya;

1. The Standard Gauge Railway

1. 1. The Standard Guage Railway is perhaps the most pronounced out of the ambitious infrastructural pledges of the Uhuru administration.
   2. The massive project traverses Kenya and stretches well over 600 kilometers.
   3. While it currently ends in Suswa, the operational route length is between Nairobi and Mombasa.
   4. China through the Export-Import Bank of China financed 90% of the railway and the Kenyan government cleared the rest.
   5. The China Road and Bridge Corporation was then deployed to construct and install the Standard Gauge Railway.
   6. The wagons were later delivered to Kenya from the Asian superpower.
   7. The project is a classic case of the robust partnership agreement between China and African governments to uplift Africa’s infrastructure.
   8. The project was officially unveiled in May 2017, with the inaugural Madaraka train ride by His Excellency President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Also read: Decoding Mass Transit: Nairobi Expressway and the Addis Ababa light rail

2. The Nairobi Expressway

1. 1. The Nairobi Expressway is the latest major addition to the Chinese investment portfolio in Kenya.
   2. As Kenya struggled under the Covid-19 economic stress, the Nairobi Expressway project was progressing in earnest.
   3. With a 62-billion price tag, the Nairobi Expressway was put up to liberate commuters from the nerve-wracking Nairobi traffic jams.
   4. The 27- kilometer mostly elevated road snakes from Mlolongo to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, up to Rironi in the neighboring Kiambu county.

3. Thika Superhighway

1. 1. The Thika Superhighway Project was a meticulous expansion of the dual carriageway between Nairobi city and Thika town.
   2. The historic highway is part of the Great North Trans-African Highway that runs from Cape Town in South Africa to Cairo Egypt.
   3. Costing approximately 31 billion Kenya Shillings, the project was financed by the following entities;
      1. 1. African Development Bank (US$180 million)
         2. The Government of Kenya (US$80 million)
         3. The Exim Bank of China (US$100 million)
   4. The construction of the Thika Superhighway was assigned to three companies that completed sections of the road.
   5. All the 3 companies namely China Wu Yi, Shengli Engineering, and Sinohydro were Chinese.
   6. Thika Road was commissioned by President Mwai Kibaki in 2012 after 4 years of construction.
   7. The highway would then be designated as a hallmark of Kibaki’s solid economic legacy as Kenya’s head of state.

4. Lamu Port

1. 1. A cornerstone of Vision 2030, Lamu Port is the starting point of the Lamu Port South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET).
   2. The LAPSSET is a game-changing project set to link Kenya, Ethiopia, and South Sudan via road, rail, and pipeline.
   3. The first berth of the port was integrated in May 2021 by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
   4. Installation of the Lamu Port was vested in Chinese companies led by China Communications Construction Company (CCCC).
   5. The port has since begun operations even as plans to install all the 32 berths take shape.
   6. Once complete, the Lamu Port will be the largest in Sub-Saharan Africa with obligations to 3 countries.

The list is subject to updates. More to follow.