Showcasing BRI’s Benefits
Photo exhibition gives visual credence to the Belt and Road Initiative’s positive impact in Africa
Farmer Samuel Kisilu, aged 45, has been a resident of Nairobi for many years and seen Kenya undergo a variety of economic transformations since the 1980s. Towards the end of March, Kisilu, an amateur photographer, took part in the Photography Exhibition on Pragmatic China-Africa Cooperation Under Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in Nairobi. The exhibition images highlighted major infrastructural development that has transformed economies across the continent through the BRI.
Organised by the China Economic Information Service, Xinhua News Agency African Regional Bureau, Belt and Road Portal and China Communications Construction Co. Ltd., the exhibition was opened on 22 March and will run for a month at the Nairobi Terminus of the Chinese-built Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway. More than 30 photographs give visual insight into the outcomes of China-Africa cooperation.
Among those attending the photo exhibition opening was Xu Jianping, director general of the Department of Regional Opening-up at the National Development and Reform Commission of China, senior Kenyan offcials, scholars and executives from the SGR operator. Xu told Xinhua that the successful cooperation under the BRI has become a model for South-South cooperation, adding that China is willing to work with countries in Africa to gradually turn the needs of countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative into reality, through the joint effiorts of governments, enterprises and people from all walks of life.
Road network benefits trade
Themed “Even Mountains and Oceans Cannot Distance People With Common Aspirations,” the exhibition showcases the benefits of China-Africa cooperation
across various sectors. It visually shows the positive impact of this cooperation within the BRI structure and how it affiects the lives of local citizens.
As a farmer, Kisilu is aware of the growing relations between Kenya and China. He has seen the country’s road network grow rapidly in just slightly over 10 years of the BRI in Kenya.
From his 2,000-square-metre urban plot bordering Machakos County, he often drives to Nairobi to sell his produce. “About 10 years ago, along Mombasa Road, there would be morning traffc gridlock and take about 2 hours getting into downtown Nairobi, whereas now using the famous Nairobi Expressway built by a Chinese company, the journey takes just 10 minutes,” said Kisilu.
The expressway runs a distance of 27 km along Mombasa Road, connecting Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to most of Nairobi’s important economic hubs.
“Thanks to the expressway, I can sell my avocados and tomatoes at good prices in Nairobi. I sell mostly to vendors who place special orders,” said Kisilu, adding that the expressway can also be seen at the photography exhibition.
Roads and highways constitute a major part of the exhibition. Since the China launched the BRI in early 2013, the paved road networks in Kenya have almost doubled. Under the BRI, about 70 percent of the roads have been built by Chinese companies using the latest available Chinese engineering technologies, according to the Kenya Road Board (KRB), a government agency.
“Our road network connects us to the rest of the world. The Trans-African Highway 8 is 6,259 km long, connecting the coastal city of Mombasa to Lagos in West Africa. This network then interconnects through the Trans-Sahelian Highway that links to Sahelian West Africa to Dakar via Ndjamena Highway, which is almost 4,500 km. The construction by well-reputed China-based companies is 80 percent complete,” said Ahmed Kolosh, newly appointed chairperson of the KRB.
He said that 70 percent of the road network has been built under the BRI since 2013.
“The economy has grown as goods have been delivered in real time to their respective destinations,” he said.
According to the latest data from the KRB, the country has a total of 161,451 km of paved roads, with close to 250,000 km of total roads. Kolosh said there are plans to pave and improve the existing unpaved road network and expand more new networks under the BRI.
“There are contracts between Kenya and China and plans to expand the current road network to an additional 50,000 km under the BRI,” he said.
Future BRI expansion
Wang Lijun, general manager of China Road and Bridge Corp. (CRBC) who was present at the opening ceremony of the exhibition, praised the investment growth in modern infrastructure. “Sino-African relations have improved greatly under the BRI. Since 2013, Africa’s infrastructure has been upgraded to world class standards,” he said.
Meanwhile, Philip Mainga, managing director of Kenya Railways Corp., said the photo exhibition offiers the public a clear indication of China’s contribution to Kenya’s economic modernisation.
“The BRI has transformed Kenya and the African continent,” Mainga said, “We have witnessed great improvement in our infrastructure through the BRI, boosting connectivity in our towns and villages.”
“Under the BRI, about 80 cooperation agreements are about to be signed in the near future. More than half of these are in African countries. Some of Kenya’s road network to be added include new stadiums and a few bridges along the coastline,” said Xu.
He said that among the new projects to be undertaken will be expansion of the runway of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. The airport is currently the seventh busiest in Africa based on total annual passenger traffc (6.56 million passengers).
According to Worldometer, Kenya’s GDP stood at $113.4 billion in 2022, showing a marked increase from $61.67 in 2013, when BRI was launched.
Currently, Kenya is also building a new state-of-theart 80,000-seat stadium and renovating four existing ones built by CRBC.
This is in preparation of the country co-hosting the next Africa Cup of Nations in 2027, the continent’s premier football event. The country will co-host the tournament jointly with Uganda and Tanzania.
Under the BRI, said Mainga, Kenya’s railroad network is expanding, as indicated in the photos in the exhibition. “The BRI has replaced most of the old railway networks which were dysfunctional or were worn out. It will soon expand further into Ethiopia through a 3,000-km standard gauge railway. Construction will begin in early 2025,” confirmed Mainga.
This railway will also link Kenya to South Sudan at a cost of $13.5 billion.