A section of Thika Superhighway. [Photo: NMG]Mega projects running into billions of shillings are going to foreign firms as the local ones lack the capacity.Transport CS James Macharia on Thursday acknowledged this saying his ministry often receives complaints regarding the award of major projects to contractors from outside the country. “For example, you see complaints that we are giving jobs to the Chinese in road constructions. The reason is because we do not have the capacity in this country,” Macharia said as quoted by the Star.The CS, however, said that local companies must acquire skills from their foreign counterparts if they are to secure mega contracts.“We are starting a major express highway from the JKIA to Limuru, the one they call double-decker. The project can only be carried out by companies with capacity, which many local firms do not have,” he further told the Star.The Sh38 billion project has been awarded to China Wu Yi. Chinese companies have undertaken a lot of infrastructure projects in the country. They have built roads, schools, airports and bridges.However, in all those projects, it is in road construction that China has played a major role. The 50.4km eight-lane super-highway was handled by SinoHydro Corporation, China Wu Yi and Sheng Li Engineering Company. Other Chinese companies have also won megaprojects on road construction.“One of my key priorities will be to enhance partnerships between the foreign companies and local companies to transfer the skills to our locals,” he said. This, nevertheless, depends on whether he will be retained at the helm of the ministry he heads as President Uhuru Kenyatta plans to reshuffle the cabinet.

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