China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) has been awarded a Sh3.22 billion contract to upgrade a seven-kilometre section of Old Mombasa Road linking the Nairobi Inland Container Depot (ICD) to Syokimau.
The project is intended to improve the corridor’s traffic capacity, drainage, safety features and overall reliability for freight and passenger movement between the inland port facility and the wider Athi River–Syokimau area.
What the Works Will Cover
According to reporting on the award, the contract covers full pavement reconstruction along the 7 km stretch, installation of improved drainage channels, street lighting, and traffic management measures during construction. The terms also include ongoing maintenance responsibilities for the contractor beyond the initial construction phase.
The road serves as a key access route for containers moving in and out of the Nairobi ICD and connects industrial and residential areas around Syokimau. Congestion and poor drainage on sections of the corridor have long affected both cargo transit times and local traffic.
The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) is the contracting authority. The award adds to a series of road rehabilitation and capacity works that CRBC has undertaken or been assigned on the broader Mombasa Road corridor in recent years.
CRBC’s Wider Infrastructure Role in Kenya
The Old Mombasa Road contract is the latest addition to CRBC’s large portfolio of public infrastructure projects in Kenya. The Chinese state-owned firm built the Mombasa–Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway and its extension to Naivasha, as well as the 27-kilometre Nairobi Expressway under a public-private partnership model.
CRBC has also been involved in rehabilitation works on sections of the lower Mombasa Road beneath the Expressway, capacity enhancement and beautification works on the JKIA–James Gichuru corridor, and the ongoing dualisation of the Rironi–Mau Summit highway. Its parent company, China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), has been linked to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport modernisation programme.
Other major assignments associated with the firm or its group include the Talanta Stadium development along Ngong Road and various road and bridge projects across the country. Cumulative contract values linked to CRBC in Kenya have previously been reported in the hundreds of billions of shillings.
Context Around the Corridor
Old Mombasa Road and the wider Mombasa Road axis have seen repeated interventions since the construction of the Nairobi Expressway. Damage to the lower deck during elevated highway works, growth in container traffic through the ICD, and rising residential and industrial development in Syokimau, Mlolongo and Athi River have kept pressure on the corridor.
Budget documents have previously listed allocations for upgrading the Syokimau–Nairobi ICD section of Old Mombasa Road under the State Department for Infrastructure, though those figures were lower than the full contract value now reported. The Sh3.22 billion award represents a more comprehensive reconstruction package than routine maintenance.
For motorists and logistics operators, the upgrade is expected to reduce vehicle wear, improve drainage during rains, and provide more reliable travel times once completed. Construction will, however, require temporary traffic diversions and lane restrictions on an already busy freight route.
Read also:Top Chinese Companies Operating in Kenya (2026)
The award continues a pattern in which CRBC has secured successive contracts for major road and rail infrastructure in Kenya. Local contractors have, in some earlier Mombasa Road packages, lost out to the Chinese firm under specially permitted procurement procedures, a pattern that has drawn scrutiny in previous years.
Whether this particular 7 km stretch proceeds on schedule will depend on site conditions, traffic management arrangements, and funding flows from the contracting authority. For now, the contract places another section of a critical Nairobi logistics corridor under CRBC’s responsibility.
Sources:
- Business Daily – China’s CRBC bags Sh3.2bn deal to upgrade Old Mombasa Road (13 October 2026)
- Prior reporting on CRBC’s Mombasa Road rehabilitation, Expressway, SGR and related infrastructure contracts
- Open Budget Kenya project listings for Syokimau–Nairobi ICD Road upgrades
Contract details are based on published reports. Exact scope, timelines and maintenance obligations should be confirmed against the final contract documents and KeNHA notices.