Nairobi, a city long known for its vibrant culture and economic dynamism, is making headlines for a different reason this week. On November 28, 2025, the Kenyan capital unveiled an ambitious suite of infrastructure and environmental initiatives that promise to reshape both the city’s skyline and its air quality for years to come. From a sweeping five-year air quality action plan to a $1.5 billion Chinese-backed highway expansion and a transformative railway hub supported by the United Kingdom, Nairobi is betting big on its future.
At the heart of these developments is a new commitment to tackling air pollution—a challenge that has loomed large over the city. According to the Clean Air Fund, Nairobi’s average PM2.5 levels in 2023 were four times higher than the World Health Organization’s guidelines, with air pollution linked to an estimated 2,500 premature deaths in the city in 2019. In response, city officials have launched the Nairobi City County Air Quality Action Plan (2025-29) alongside Kenya’s first pollution data portal. These moves, announced with considerable fanfare, mark a decisive step toward cleaner air and healthier lives for Nairobi’s residents.
The new air quality data management system is built on a network of 50 sensors installed earlier this year across schools, health facilities, and other key sites. This network, supported by the Breathe Cities initiative—a global partnership led by the Clean Air Fund, C40 Cities, and Bloomberg Philanthropies—will provide real-time insights into pollution levels across Nairobi’s neighborhoods. The goal? To empower policymakers, researchers, and everyday citizens with the data they need to make informed decisions.
"The launch of these two milestones marks a defining moment in Nairobi’s journey toward a cleaner, healthier and more sustainable city. Through strong policies and a transport data system, we are empowering our city to take bold, evidence-based action to reduce air pollution and safeguard the wellbeing of our residents," Nairobi Governor Sakaja declared at the unveiling, as reported by the Clean Air Fund.
The air quality plan itself was crafted through a wide-ranging consultative process involving civil society groups, community organizations, and academics. It sets out a five-year roadmap for reducing pollution from transport, industry, and waste management—sectors that have historically contributed heavily to Nairobi’s smog and respiratory health crisis. Maureen Njeri, the country executive committee member of Green Nairobi, emphasized, "These initiatives demonstrate our resolve to make air quality management a central part of Nairobi’s development agenda. With an actionable plan and an open data system, we are ensuring that every decision, from transport to waste management, is guided by accurate information and a shared responsibility to protect the health of Nairobians."
But air quality isn’t the only area where Nairobi is making waves. On the very same day, Kenya and two Chinese state firms officially launched construction of a $1.5 billion highway expansion project—a development that signals Beijing’s return to major infrastructure development in East Africa after several years of reduced lending. This project, split into two phases, is designed to upgrade a critical transport corridor linking Kenya’s port city of Mombasa with western Kenya and neighboring landlocked states such as Uganda, via Nairobi.
The first phase, costing $863 million, will see China Road and Bridge Corporation partner with Kenya’s state pension fund NSSF to expand 139 kilometers of highway into four- and six-lane dual-carriage roads. The second phase, valued at $678.56 million, will involve Shandong Hi-Speed Road and Bridge International developing a 94-kilometer stretch into a six-lane carriageway. Both phases are expected to be completed by the end of 2027, after which the firms will operate the highway for 28 years under a toll concession to recoup their investment.
Funding for the project is structured as 75% debt and 25% equity, with NSSF contributing 45% of the equity in the phase it is involved in. According to Kenya’s finance ministry, the borrowing may come from Chinese commercial lenders and state entities like the Export-Import Bank of China. The new agreement was announced during President William Ruto’s state visit to Beijing in April 2025, and it comes after Kenya terminated an earlier deal with a French-led consortium for the same highway expansion.
Kenya’s pivot back to Chinese financing is not without controversy, especially given concerns over national debt levels and the country’s close ties with Washington. Kefa Seda, director general of the Public-Private Partnerships directorate at Kenya’s finance ministry, told Reuters, "We don’t have any room to borrow any more money," underscoring the delicate balance Nairobi must strike between infrastructure investment and fiscal responsibility.
Meanwhile, across the city, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) has begun a market engagement process for a technical assistance contract on the Nairobi Railway City project. Valued at approximately £9 million and set to run from June 2026 to May 2028 (with a possible extension to 2030), the contract will support Kenya Railways in redeveloping Nairobi’s central station into a state-of-the-art multimodal transport hub. The plan includes a new station building, nine platforms, and access bridges, with the capacity to support a projected footfall of 400,000 people per day by 2030 and 600,000 by 2045.
The station will integrate bus rapid transit, commuter rail services, and a standard gauge railway connection to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, aiming to make Nairobi’s transport system more efficient and interconnected. The project, approved by the Kenyan cabinet in July 2025, draws inspiration from London’s King’s Cross station regeneration—a model President Ruto and senior officials visited earlier this year. The UK government has already funded a team of urban development experts to assist with planning, and UK Export Finance signed a memorandum of understanding in 2022 for potential financing, which would require 30-40% UK content in design and construction.
Public realm improvements around the new station are also on the agenda, with the hope of spurring private investment in transport-oriented development on underutilized land. This, officials believe, will further boost economic activity and help Nairobi keep pace with its rapidly growing population.
These overlapping initiatives—spanning clean air, roadways, and railways—underscore a new era of partnership-driven urban transformation in Nairobi. While the city faces no shortage of challenges, from pollution to congestion and debt, its leaders seem determined to chart a path toward a more sustainable, connected, and livable metropolis. As these projects take shape over the next several years, Nairobi’s residents and the world will be watching closely to see if the city can deliver on its bold promises and become a model for urban renewal in Africa and beyond.
