Key facts
- Kenya awarded China Communications Construction Co. a $2.9 billion contract to upgrade Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
- The deal follows the cancellation of a previous concession with Adani Group.
- Construction is slated to begin this month.
- Funding will come from a new National Infrastructure Fund and commercial loans.
Kenya has selected China Communications Construction Co. for a $2.9 billion upgrade of its primary airport, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, according to people familiar with the matter. This decision comes two years after a concession agreement with India's Adani Group was terminated.
The East African nation has awarded the state-owned Chinese firm an engineering, procurement, and construction contract to modernize and expand the airport. This move reinforces the presence of Chinese companies in major infrastructure projects within Kenya, where CCCC has already been involved in developing a railway, a stadium, a toll road, and a convention center.
Construction for the airport project is anticipated to commence this month. The financing will be partly sourced from the proceeds of privatization channeled into a newly established National Infrastructure Fund, with the remainder coming from commercial loans secured by securitizing an air-passenger service charge. Kenya aims to bolster its status as an East African aviation hub amid increasing competition from neighbors like Ethiopia and Rwanda.