China Special Envoy to the Horn of Africa Amb. Xue Bing told the Star that the concerned financial institutions are in close contact and are working towards finalisation of the agreements.
“The recent [state visit] visit was very successful. The two leaders [President Ruto and President Xi Jinping] discussed about the financial arrangement. I think the two sides’ concerned departments, especially the financial institutions are closely communicating with each other”. “We work for the goal to finally sign agreement, to resolve the wishes from the Kenya side, so that we could achieve a very good result for both sides,” Amb. Xue said at the sidelines of the Third Annual Seminar on the Outlook on Peace and Development in the Horn Africa in Nairobi.
On June 10, PCS and Foreign Affairs CS Musalia Mudavadi held a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing, where called for fast tracking of the conclusion of the loan agreements.
“During my meeting with H.E. Wang Yi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, I expressed Kenya’s deep appreciation for China’s continued support, particularly in financial and trade cooperation. I also underscored the importance of concluding discussions on financial cooperation before the end of June 2025, as a critical step forward,” PCS Mudavadi said in social media dispatch.
He was in China for the the Ministerial Meeting of Coordinators on the Implementation of Follow-Up Actions from the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), the framework in which Beijing executes its infrastructure and other programmes with African states.
During President Ruto’s visit, Kenya secured Chinese funding to implement “strategic connectivity development projects”.
Among these projects form part of the President’s legacy projects, which he is under pressure to deliver before the 2027 elections.
These include investments in the extension of the SGR to Naivasha (PhaseII) and from Naivasha to Malaba (Phase III), as well as the expansion and dualing of the Nairobi-Nakuru-Mau Summit–Malaba highway.
Others which were agreed in Beijing are the Kiambu-Northern Bypass and the Eldoret Bypass and the construction of Nithi Bridge.
President Ruto on June 11 said the construction of the Rironi-Nakuru road would start in August, a month later than earlier communicated.
Speaking when he hosted a delegation of leaders from Nakuru at State House, Nairobi, President Ruto said the design work and other technicalities were almost complete.
"We have agreed with the contractors to speed up the project and complete it by 2027. If not, they should have done a substantial portion of it by that time," the President said, suggesting the urgency of the project.
This is amidst cash constraints as the country spends as much as Sh1.9 trillion on debt repayments, translating to about 57 per cent of the projected revenue of Sh3.31 trillion.
With debt servicing taking the lion’s share of revenue, Ruto’s administration is forced to borrow even more to keep moving and rolling out key projects.
