This archive report was first published on 11 October 2021.
Published on September 30, 2021, a report by the College of William & Mary highlighted Kenya's remarkable achievement in completing China-funded mega projects ahead of schedule.
The study, titled Banking on the Belt and Road, covered 13,427 projects worth $843 billion (Ksh93.23 trillion) in 165 countries, all funded by China over 18 years.
Kenya led the world in completing China-funded mega projects ahead of schedule, with five projects completed between 2013 and 2017. This achievement put Kenya at the top of the list of countries that have benefited from China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Researchers attributed the fast pace of implementing Chinese projects in Kenya to President Uhuru Kenyatta's ownership and Chinese contractors' quick action to stifle resistance.
One notable example is the $3.5 billion (Ksh387.1 billion) Mombasa-Nairobi standard gauge railway (SGR), funded more than 85 percent by China's Exim Bank. The SGR was completed 18 months ahead of schedule, having been started on December 12, 2014, and completed on May 31, 2017.
President Kenyatta took ownership of the project, assuming responsibility for resolving politically contentious matters that could delay or derail the project. He also identified a specific goal to guide the efforts of everyone involved in project implementation: putting the railway into operation before he stood for re-election in August 2017.
Chinese contractors, particularly the state-owned China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), moved fast to create access corridors for wildlife migration, build high bridges for safe passage of wildlife, and install dust-suppressing sprinklers, noise screens, and drinking water facilities for wildlife.
CRBC also hired local people who were trusted by local residents, such as pastors from nearby churches, to help resolve contentious disputes and understand and respond to local grievances.
China's influence on Kenya's infrastructure development started in earnest with the construction of the Thika Superhighway between January 2009 and November 2012 at a cost of nearly Ksh32 billion ($291 million) during the last term of President Kibaki.
