Two Chinese firms and a local company have been tapped to build walkways, single carriageways and footbridges to ease movement around Talanta Sports City Stadium in a Sh3.9 billion project as Kenya gears up to host the African Cup of Nations.
China Road and Bridge Corporation, China WU Yi Co Ltd and Gaps Construction and Engineering Co. Limited of Kenya were picked by Kenya Urban Roads Authority (Kura) through the Specially Permitted Procurement Procedure (SPPP).
The works will include constructing walkways on both sides of Ngong Road, a dual carriage and walkways linking Ngong Road to Cemetery Road and a bridge at the interchange of Southern Bypass. Another bridge will also be built across Ngong Road.
“Your firm has been identified as one of the qualified, vetted, and approved contractors capable of undertaking this strategic infrastructure project,” KURA said in a letter to M/s China Road and Bridge Corporation.
KURA wrote all letters to the three on January 9, 2026, adding that the project would take 12 months to complete and would have a defects notification period of a year.
The firms will also be required to build a single carriageway and walkways on both sides from the VIP Access side of Talanta Sports Complex to the Kenya Scouts Association, and another single carriageway and walkways on either side of Cemetery Road.
SPPP refers to a model where the procuring entity taps a contractor without publicly advertising the tender. SPPP bypasses standard tendering procedures and is used for high-value projects, which are urgent and must be delivered within a short time.
The expansion of the road infrastructure along Ngong Road and Southern Bypass are key to easing movement when Kenya co-hosts the 2027 African Cup of Nations with Uganda and Tanzania.
Awarding of the project to Chinese firms cements the grip that infrastructural firms from the Asian economic giant have gained in Kenya’s transport sector.
Chinese firms have bagged nearly all big-ticket roads and railway projects in Kenya, including the Nairobi Expressway, the standard gauge railway, the Southern and Eastern bypasses in Nairobi, the Thika Superhighway and the Rironi-Mau Summit road.
China Road and Bridge Corporation delivered the Mombasa-Nairobi-Naivasha standard gauge railway, the Nairobi Expressway.
The firm is also constructing the Nairobi-Nakuru-Mau Summit dual highway.
China WU Yi Co Ltd is also building the Bomas International Convention Centre along Langata Road. The firm was also part of the Chinese companies that delivered the Thika Superhighway.
Dominance of the Chinese firms has relegated local contractors to the small ticket roads projects, triggering an outcry and unsuccessful efforts to curtail the participation of foreign firms in low value projects.
The Sh44.79 billion Talanta Sports City Stadium is one of three pitches that will host Afcon matches in Kenya. The others are the Moi International Sports Centre and Nyayo National Stadium.
Talanta Sports Stadium is nearing completion, underscoring the pressure that the three firms face in completing the roads next to the facility.
