China Firm Wins Ksh375 Billion JKIA Expansion Contract
The government awarded China Communications Construction Company(CCCC) a Ksh375.4 billion (about $2.9 billion) contract to upgrade and expand Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) under the newly established National Infrastructure Fund (NIF).
The award follows President William Ruto’s announcement that construction would start in June 2026, after the government received seed capital for the NIF through the privatization of the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC).
According to reporting by Bloomberg, the deal signals a return to large-scale infrastructure financing that uses Chinese contractors after the government cancelled a previous concession agreement with India’s Adani Group two years earlier.
The JKIA expansion will follow a 20-year master plan through 2045, which sets out phased development, capital expenditure planning, and projections for financial feasibility.
People familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that the government awarded the contract to China Communications Construction Company, although it has not yet issued a formal public announcement on the deal.
CCCC helped design and build two of Kenya’s most significant infrastructure projects over the past decade: the Mombasa–Nairobi standard gauge railway and the Nairobi–Naivasha extension.
The company maintains a large portfolio across ports, railways, highways, and major transportation hubs. It describes itself as the world’s largest enterprise in port, road, and bridge design and construction, as well as the leading dredging company and the owner of the world’s largest engineering fleet. CCCC operates 33 large-scale subsidiaries and works in 139 countries and regions.
It also lists major flagship projects worldwide, including the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge, the Shanghai Yangshan Deepwater Port, and China’s extensive high-speed rail network.
In March, President William Ruto said the government would use Ksh20 billion from the proceeds of the KPC sale as seed funding for the expansion of the 68-year-old airport. However, the government has not yet clarified how it will finance the remainder of the project, which totals more than Ksh355 billion.
Government disclosures indicate that the expansion will roll out in two phases. The first phase will focus on increasing capacity and modernizing key parts of the airport, including taxiways, terminal processing areas, landside access, and digital systems. Officials said these upgrades should help raise JKIA’s capacity to 12 million passengers annually within about 18 months.
The second phase will cover major expansion works, including building a new 4,500-meter parallel runway and a 230,000-square-meter passenger terminal designed to add capacity for another 10 million passengers each year. The new terminal will use a modern X-shaped design intended to improve passenger movement and strengthen service efficiency.
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