M a r k e t N e w s
Kenya: Corporation Signs Sh50 Billion Deals With Local Suppliers for Railway Construction
Posted on : Wednesday, 30th March 2016
China Road and Bridge Corporation has since inception signed contracts worth Sh50 billion with local suppliers for the construction of the standard gauge railway.
The deals have led to the creation of over 38,000 jobs, easing the government's unemployment burden.
The firm, in its social responsibility report 2015 on the Sh400 billion Mombasa-Nairobi SGR project, revealed that agreements signed with local suppliers (project value worth Sh50 billion) account for half the total contract amount.
"In order to benefit local industries and people during project, CRBC has taken a deep dive into local markets where it has operated for over 30 years and sought co-operation with local suppliers, sub-contractors and service providers," says the report released last week.
Among the beneficiaries of the billions are Headstream Construction Co, Jubilee African Limited, Greenersol Landscape, Miangeni Hardware and Contractors and Leaf Base Services Ltd.
The local SMEs are paid between Sh5 million to Sh25 million for specified services, which range from pitching stones at the site to protecting the drainage and the slope of the rail and planting grass.
Further, the report states that by the end of 2015, goods and materials purchased from the local markets accounted for 63 per cent of the total goods bought.
Some 102,200 cubic metres of diesel, over 4 million tonnes of cement, 339 units of vehicles and over 36,000 tonnes of steel, among others, have been purchased locally.
Mr Lu Shan, the president of CRBC says SGR, which has 78 per cent of its main works completed, has 19,858 local employees on its payroll.
The World Bank, in its policy research working paper titled Deal or no Deal, also noted that Chinese firms in Kenya were hiring more locals than foreigners.
"Contrary to the popular belief that Chinese companies only hire Chinese workers, 93 per cent of companies report hiring Kenyan employees; private enterprises are more likely to hire locals than State enterprises," the report states.
Source : allafrica.com
