Kenya Secures $1.5 Billion Chinese PPP for Strategic Highway Expansion
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Kenya has launched a $1.5 billion highway expansion project with two Chinese state-owned firms, marking renewed Chinese involvement in African infrastructure through a public-private partnership structure designed to limit new sovereign borrowing amid constrained fiscal space, President William Ruto said.
The two-phase project extends the critical transport corridor linking the port of Mombasa, Nairobi and landlocked western neighbours. Phase one, valued at $863 million, sees China Road and Bridge Corporation partnering with Kenya’s National Social Security Fund to upgrade a 139-kilometre section into a four- and six-lane dual carriageway, with NSSF contributing 45% of the equity. Phase two, worth $678.6 million, will be delivered by Shandong Hi-Speed Road and Bridge International on a 94-kilometre stretch.
Both phases follow a 75% debt and 25% equity financing model, with loans expected from Chinese commercial banks and the Export-Import Bank of China. Construction across the project is scheduled for completion by 2027, followed by a 28-year toll concession period to recover investments.
China’s approach reflects a post-2019 shift away from pure sovereign lending toward investment-backed partnerships after scaling back credit exposure across Africa. Beijing committed $50 billion in credit lines and investments at the 2024 China-Africa summit, while Kenya revived this highway agreement during President Ruto’s April 2025 visit to Beijing after previously cancelling a deal with France’s Vinci SA.
The arrangement underscores Nairobi’s strategy to diversify infrastructure funding sources as Western financing slows, while positioning China to expand influence through mixed-financing models across the continent.
