Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi met with senior officials of the Beijing Urban Construction Group (BUCG) International on the sidelines of President William Ruto’s China trip to discuss the expansion of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
Mudavadi said Tuesday Kenya needs a modernized JKIA to strengthen its position as a leading hub for Eastern Africa and the continent at large.
Mudavadi said he had met with the group’s President, Raymond Luo; the General Manager of Marketing, Harold Huang; and the Vice President for Southeast Africa, Wei Zhang.
Known for its expertise in the construction of airports globally over the last four decades, Mudavadi revealed that he had invited the team to bid in the upcoming JKIA expansion project.
“They shared insights from their 42 years of experience building over 30 airport terminals, runways, and specialised aviation facilities worldwide,” read part of the statement.
“I encouraged them to submit their expression of interest as Kenya prepares to invite contractors for the upcoming JKIA expansion.”
This comes months after the ill-fated Adani deal to take over the airport was cancelled after the group’s director was indicted in a $250 million (Sh32.4 billion in the current exchange rates) graft case in the United States.
Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi announced plans to reopen bids for the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (KETRACO) deal.
According to Bloomberg, Kenya is seeking private investors for a $245 million (about Sh31.7 billion at the current exchange rates) high-voltage transmission line project to replace the cancelled Adani deal.
This private partnership is set to bridge the major infrastructure financing gap the country has been hit with, which currently stands at $5 billion (about Ksh647 billion at the current exchange rates).
The funding obtained from this partnership is to cover the construction cost of four power lines, which will commence in 2026 and be completed in 2029.
Mudavadi’s meeting with the Chinese officials is just another of Kenya’s major wins in the ongoing China trip, as the president has already secured a multi-billion-dollar agreement for the construction of a state-of-the-art Foreign Affairs complex in Nairobi.
The agreement is set to be signed when the president meets his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, later in his trip.
This is likely to open the country to more scrutiny from the West.
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