Authority plans to curtail clout enjoyed by Chinese contractors
Owners of private cars will from next year have to present them to the government for inspection annually in a new policy shift meant to improve road safety. FILE PHOTO |
What you need to know:
- The former was contracted to build the Sh447.5 billion Standard Gauge Railway line between Mombasa and Nairobi, Wu Yi was to construct the Sh2.6 billion dual carriage way extension of Langata Road.
- China Wu Yi was last year named the contractor for the University of Nairobi’s 22-storey complex valued at Sh2.3 billion and another Chinese company China Jiangxi International is the main contractor for the proposed tallest building in Nairobi – Hazina Trade Centre.
A state body wants Chinese contractors participation in local construction work limited.
National Construction Authority says it will be releasing guidelines to check the growing influence of orientals on the local construction scene.
This follows numerous complaints by local constructors that the Chinese are taking all the big projects.
Local companies are now edged out of public infrastructure work to private ventures. The authority says it will lobby the national assembly and the committee on delegated legislation to have rules capping Chinese contractors participation in Kenya building industry.
Both the house and the team have agreed that the regulations be published after Easter before being tabled in parliament.
“Among the key concerns raised in the regulations is that at least 30 per cent of the monetary value of a project should go to locals. This will be made possible through joint ventures or sub-contracting,” said executive director Daniel Manduku. Some Chinese construction firms undertaking major infrastructure projects in Kenya include China Road and Bridge Corporation and China Wu Yi.
The former was contracted to build the Sh447.5 billion Standard Gauge Railway line between Mombasa and Nairobi, Wu Yi was to construct the Sh2.6 billion dual carriage way extension of Langata Road. They have also ventured into private projects grabbing multi-billion projects causing jitters among local contractors.
China Wu Yi was last year named the contractor for the University of Nairobi’s 22-storey complex valued at Sh2.3 billion and another Chinese company China Jiangxi International is the main contractor for the proposed tallest building in Nairobi – Hazina Trade Centre.
The regulations also dictate that recruitment or employment of foreign technical or skilled workers on such contracts shall be done only on occasions when the skills by the foreigner are not available locally. The tenders must also be approved by the authority.
“Compulsory training for lower carder constructors by NCA to upgrade their standards has also been considered among the proposed regulations,” said Mr Manduku. According to Ms Isabella Njeri a council member at the Institute of Quantity Surveyors of Kenya, local contractors need government support.
“They need financing to enable them win tenders; NCA through these regulations will connect local contractors to banks that guarantee them in construction, said Ms Njeri.
Nonetheless, Mr Evans Odingo a private real estate developer, said Kenyan contractors have failed in managing big construction deals while Chinese contractors have made a name for themselves with their quality work.
He said the Sh433 billion deal between Kenya and China last year explains the government’s welcome Chinese contractors. The agreement was to double Kenya’s trade with China and encourage investors and entrepreneurs to penetrate into the very heart of the country, said Mr Odingo.
