This milestone event marks a new era of engineering excellence aimed at strengthening Africa’s engineering education, professional development, and infrastructure capacity.
Under the theme “Belt and Road Initiatives in Engineering Capacity Building: Innovative Infrastructure Solutions to Achieve SDGs through Smart Partnerships with CAST and African Engineering Organizations,” the event brought together global engineering leaders, policymakers, academia, and industry experts to forge solutions for Africa’s engineering challenges.
Key highlights of the event saw a Tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) Signing between CAST, IEK, and EBK to strengthen collaborations in engineering capacity development, skills enhancement, and research partnerships.
Another one was the Engineering Training and AI Development where IEK, as a key partner in ECBAP, committed to training over 100,000 engineers in Africa, focusing on emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), renewable energy, digital infrastructure, and climate-resilient designs.
On strategic engineering partnerships, the event reinforced strategic partnerships aimed at enhancing Africa’s engineering education, mobility of professionals, and technology transfer, as well as promoting regional centers of excellence for engineering training.
The Cabinet Secretary (CS) for Roads and Transport, Davis Chirchir noted that this initiative aligns seamlessly with Kenya’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) and global aspirations such as AU Agenda 2063, the EAC Vision 2050, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
He established that Africa is at a crossroads where infrastructure, industrialization, and technology must be prioritized to unlock its full potential.
The CS maintained that Engineering remains the backbone of economic growth, and for Kenya to fully industrialize, the country must invest in skills development, innovation, and strategic partnerships.
Further, the CS stated that Kenya is strategically positioned as a regional transport hub, linking East Africa, the Horn of Africa, and beyond, adding that the government has undertaken massive infrastructure projects to modernize transportation, including the expansion of road networks, ports, rail, and aviation facilities.
“Today, all our major border crossings are tarmacked, and we continue to open up new corridors such as the Lamu-Garissa-Isiolo corridor and the Mogadishu-Nairobi Highway, both of which will enhance trade, security, and economic growth,” affirmed the CS in a speech read on his behalf by the Principal Secretary for Roads Eng. Joseph Mbugua.
In the maritime sector, the CS revealed that the Port of Mombasa, which handles over 1.4 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) annually, is undergoing expansion, while Lamu Port and Kisumu Port are being modernized to boost regional connectivity.
“Our Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) has significantly reduced cargo transit time between Mombasa and Nairobi, enhancing efficiency in logistics,” he added.
The CS reiterated that Kenya’s development has been significantly boosted by China, which remains Kenya’s largest trade and investment partner, particularly in infrastructure development.
Chirchir highlighted that China has invested in major engineering projects such as the SGR from Mombasa to Naivasha USD 4.7 billion, the Nairobi Expressway USD600 million, and the Lamu Port Project, which is a key part of the LAPSSET Corridor.
These projects, he insisted, have played a pivotal role in modernizing Kenya’s transport network, facilitating trade, and promoting economic growth.
“However, while we appreciate these investments, it is time for Africa to develop its own engineering capacity to lead in infrastructure development and technological advancement,” he implored.
Despite these achievements, the CS lamented that Kenya and Africa at large continue to face significant challenges in the engineering sector including the low transition rate of engineers where currently, Kenya has only 4,000 registered engineers, yet industry demand requires at least 10,000 engineers by 2027 to meet the growing needs of the country’s economy and align to the required UNESCO ratio 1:5000.
“This gap poses a major challenge to industrialization, infrastructure expansion, and technological innovation,” voiced Chirchir, stressing that the government, through the ECBAP initiative, is committed to bridging this gap by enhancing engineering education, simplifying the registration process, and strengthening continuous professional development programs.
He cited the country’s low level of industrialization as another major challenge where Kenya and much of Africa continue to export too many raw materials, missing out on the economic benefits of value addition and local manufacturing.
Currently, according to the CS, over 60 percent of Kenya’s exports are raw agricultural and mineral commodities, yet manufacturing contributes only 7.5 percent to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), far below the government’s target of 15 percent by 2030.
“To correct this imbalance, we must prioritize engineering-led industrialization, ensuring that Kenya not only produces but also processes and exports finished goods. This shift will create jobs, boost economic growth, and improve our balance of trade,” he advised.
Further, Chirchir noted that Research and innovation are also areas where Kenya lags behind, stating that Investment in Research and Development remains below 0.8 percent of GDP, compared to the global standard of 2.5 percent.
This lack of investment in innovation, he says, has left Africa dependent on external technologies instead of developing homegrown solutions.
“If we are to compete globally, we must increase funding for engineering research, strengthen university-industry collaboration, and enhance technology transfer programs. Through ECBAP, we have an opportunity to establish centers of excellence in engineering and technology that will drive Africa’s innovation agenda,” he remarked.
Chirchir urged both Kenya and Africa to work towards international recognition of their engineers citing on of the key milestones ahead of EBK’s acceding to provisional status of Washington Accord in June 2025, an accreditation that will enable global recognition of Kenyan engineering qualifications, allowing its professionals to work and compete on the world stage.
He added that establishing Centres of Excellence to enhance engineering education and professional development through EBK including the establishment of the Kenya School of Engineering (KSE) and the Kenya Academy of Engineering and Technology (KAET) is another flagship project by the State Department of Roads.
“To support this, the State Department of Roads has committed to provide resources that include allocation of land and enabling policies and regulatory frameworks for sustainable success of this centre of excellence which shall be one of the five in Africa,” assured the CS.
Chirchir also reiterated the government’s commitment to engineering excellence, stating that Africa cannot afford to lag in industrialization and infrastructure growth as ECBAP will bridge the engineering skills gap and ensure that our engineers lead the continent’s transformation.
Speaking at the event, Eng. Shammah Kiteme, IEK President, reaffirmed IEK’s commitment to driving engineering education and professional growth, stating that the ECBAP initiative is a transformative step towards equipping engineers with cutting-edge skills needed for Africa’s economic transformation.
“Through partnerships with global institutions, we will create a knowledge-driven workforce to lead infrastructure development,” assured Eng. Kiteme.
Concurrently, Eng. Erastus Mwongera, EBK Chairman, emphasized the importance of global accreditation, insisting that Kenya’s engineering education must align with international standards.
“We are actively working towards securing Washington Accord recognition, which will open doors for Kenyan engineers globally,” he reiterated.
The ECBAP launch sets the stage for a decade-long initiative to train, mentor, and empower African engineers, ensuring that Africa’s infrastructure development is led by its own professionals in a that program also aligns with Agenda 2063, the AfCFTA implementation, and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
By Michael Omondi…
