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US, China set to compete over Kenya's crucial transport artery

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President William Ruto, his US counterpart Joe Biden and officials from both governments during a technology roundtable at the White House, Washington, on May 23, 2024. [PCS, Standard]

The planned Nairobi-Mombasa Expressway will give the United States a firm footing in Kenya's infrastructure development. Unlike its rival China, the US does not have prominent infrastructure projects to its name in Kenya, making the expressway critical.

Whether by design or coincidence, the planned expressway will heavily interact with two Chinese-built infrastructure projects - the Standard Gauge Railway and the Nairobi Expressway. This could be viewed as being symbolic of the rivalry between the two superpowers playing out on a key transport corridor, serving not just Kenya but the entire East and Central Africa region.

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