‪Kenya Picks Chinese Firm For Sh375 Billion JKIA Upgrade Project After Adani Fallout‬

The company reportedly being considered to take over the planned Ksh375 billion expansion of Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) is China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), one of the world’s largest state-owned infrastructure firms.

CCCC was involved with the design and construction of two of the most important infrastructure projects in Kenya in the past ten years: the Mombasa-Nairobi standard gauge railway and the Nairobi-Naivasha railway extension.

The company has a huge portfolio in ports, railways and highways and major transportation hubs, making it a possible contender if Kenya decides to move forward with plans for the modernisation of JKIA after the Adani deal fell through. It could also expand China’s presence in Kenya’s infrastructure sector, where its contractors have been at the centre of delivering many flagship projects.

China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) was established on October 8, 2006, following a restructuring initiative approved by China’s State Council and spearheaded by its parent company, China Communications Construction Group (CCCG), a state-owned enterprise supervised by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC).

CCCC is the world’s largest port, road and bridge design and construction enterprise, the world’s largest dredging enterprise and the owner of the world’s largest engineering fleet. It has 33 large-scale subsidiaries and is present in 139 countries and regions.

The company has many flagship projects, such as the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge, the Shanghai Yangshan Deepwater Port and China’s many high-speed railway networks.

The company made history later that year by becoming the first ultra-large Chinese state-owned infrastructure enterprise to enter the international capital market when its shares were listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in December 2006.

In March 2012, CCCC further strengthened its financial standing by listing its A-shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, marking another significant milestone in its growth journey.

Over the years, CCCC has grown into one of the world’s largest and most influential infrastructure companies. It is widely recognised as a leader in transportation infrastructure, with core operations spanning infrastructure construction, engineering design, and dredging.

Drawing on decades of experience and technical expertise gained from major projects across diverse sectors, the company provides integrated solutions covering every stage of infrastructure development, from planning and design to construction and maintenance.

The company is regarded as the world’s largest port, road, and bridge design and construction contractor, as well as the largest dredging company globally. It is also China’s biggest

Its global portfolio includes some of the most ambitious transportation and infrastructure projects ever undertaken, cementing its reputation as a key player in the development of modern infrastructure across Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America.

Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) departure terminal in Nairobi.

This follows a decision in November 2024 by President William Ruto to cancel the deal, which was to involve Adani Group spending billions of shillings on expanding and modernising the country’s busiest airport under a public-private partnership contract.

The cancellation came as the controversy over Gautam Adani and some of his associates over bribery and fraud charges was mounting in the United States.

The Adani Group has dismissed the charges, but the events sparked outrage among the public and further opposition to the JKIA project from politicians, aviation stakeholders, labour unions and civil society activists.

The lack of clarity in the procurement process and the length of the proposed concession had been raised as concerns by critics, along with a question about the effects of the concession on a strategic national asset.

President Ruto, in response, ordered government entities to immediately suspend the procurement of the airport expansion project with Adani and seek alternative investors to finance the project.