Kenya picked a Chinese firm for a $2.9 billion upgrade of its biggest airport, people with knowledge of the matter said, two years after a concession deal with Indian conglomerate Adani Group was canceled.
The East African nation awarded China Communications Construction Co. an engineering, procurement and construction contract to update and expand the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, the people said asking not to be identified as they are not authorized to discuss the matter.
The deal cements Chinese companies’ grip on major infrastructure projects in Kenya, where CCCC’s portfolio already includes a new railway, a 60,000-seat stadium, a toll road and a convention center.
The airport project will be partly funded by the proceeds of privatization invested in a newly formed National Infrastructure Fund and construction work is expected to begin this month, the people said. Kenya will also finance the project through commercial loans backed by securitizing an air-passenger service charge.
Kenyan Transport Secretary Davis Chirchir didn’t respond to a request for comment. Representatives of the state-owned CCCC didn’t immediately respond to a similar request.
An unsolicited $2.6 billion bid by Indian billionaire Gautam Adani to operate the Nairobi airport for three decades sparked protests and an aviation workers’ strike in 2024, forcing President William Ruto’s government to cancel the deal.
Long an East African aviation hub, Kenya is scrambling to upgrade its biggest airport as neighbors ramp up competition. Ethiopia operates the continent’s largest airline and is planning a new $12.5 billion airport near its capital, while Rwanda is also constructing a new facility in partnership with Gulf carrier Qatar Airways.
