China Boosts Kenyan Ties with $5 Billion Worth of Construction, Infrastructure Projects

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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Kenya and China have signed a series of infrastructure and construction deals worth $5 billion. Among the proposals are the construction of a rail line and a power generation project.

A standard gauge railway will link the port city of Mombasa on the Indian Ocean coast with the town of Malaba, which lies in western Kenya on the border with Uganda. This will open up a trade route and help to develop the inland town.

The Kenyan government is encouraging China to invest further in the power sector and in a technology-focused city near Nairobi. It also is encouraging China to invest in a new port at Lamu, which lies further north, up the coast from Mombasa.

The $25.5 billion Lamu project bears strategic importance for the East African region, as it would give South Sudan and Ethiopia access to the Indian Ocean with the construction of a highway, railway and oil pipeline. The two countries to the north are landlocked, which has complicated trade development.

China already is involved in infrastructure development projects in Kenya, including roads and geothermal power projects.

For related information, see August 8, 2013, article - Kenya Targets 7,000 Megawatts of Geothermal Power by 2030.

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