Kenya Ditches French Consortium for Chinese Contractor in Major Highway Deal
Conservationists work to protect vultures from extinction amid habitat loss and poisoning threats.
Kenya will end a 1.3-billion-euro highway expansion project deal with a French consortium in favor of an undisclosed Chinese firm. The original deal, signed in 2020 with a French consortium led by Vinci SA, aimed to upgrade 140 km of road linking Nairobi and Nakuru into a multilane highway. However, Kenya’s government raised concerns about the contract’s terms, particularly regarding financial risks from insufficient traffic demand. It sought to restructure the contract for more favorable terms, but the consortium deemed its proposal unfeasible. As a result, the deal was terminated, and the project is expected to be awarded to a Chinese contractor. This decision follows Finance Minister John Mbadi’s recent trip to Beijing, where he met with senior members of the Chinese government.