- Kenya awarded a $2.9 billion contract to Chinese firm for airport expansion and modernization
- The contract value is 50% higher than the cancelled $2 billion Adani Group proposal
- Kenya's project is part of a 20-year master plan to expand airport capacity
Kenya has awarded a $2.9 billion contract to China Communications Construction Co (CCCC) to expand and modernise Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), marking a return to large-scale Chinese-backed infrastructure development nearly two years after a proposed deal with the Adani Group.
The contract value is roughly 50 per cent higher than Adani Group's proposed airport concession, which was estimated at about $2 billion. Kenya had initially engaged with Adani for a few months on the project. However, the deal was cancelled in November 2024 following mounting pressure by the US Department of Justice.
Recently, the US Department of Justice closed the matter, citing a lack of conclusive evidence, bringing the episode to a close from a legal standpoint.
The award to the Chinese state-owned contractor advances long-delayed plans to modernise Kenya's busiest airport, which has been operating beyond its intended capacity and is viewed as critical to the country's ambitions of strengthening its position as East Africa's leading aviation hub.
The JKIA expansion forms part of a 20-year master plan extending to 2045 and includes upgrades to runway infrastructure, passenger terminals, aircraft stands, access roads and support facilities. Kenya's government has said the airport handled nearly 9 million passengers in 2025, above its design capacity of about 7.5 million passengers annually.
Kenya later moved ahead with a fresh procurement process and government-backed financing model for the airport upgrade. President William Ruto has previously identified JKIA's modernisation as a priority infrastructure project under the country's National Infrastructure Fund.
The Chinese award reinforces Beijing's longstanding role in Kenya's infrastructure sector. CCCC and affiliated companies have previously participated in major projects, including the Nairobi Expressway and the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway.
(Disclaimer: New Delhi Television is a subsidiary of AMG Media Networks Limited, an Adani Group Company.)
