Kenya has awarded China Communications Construction Co. a $2.9 billion contract to upgrade Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, two years after canceling a deal with India's Adani Group. Construction is expected to begin this month.
The deal signifies China's expanding influence in East African infrastructure development and highlights Kenya's strategic efforts to enhance its aviation hub status amidst regional competition.
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.
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