This year, Kenya’s construction scene finally "woke up" after a slow patch last year. 

Three big themes stood out: 

On the employment side, the government reported 250,000 jobs created via the Affordable Housing Program (AHP), despite a significant budget cut of about KSh45.3 billion in infrastructure allocations

These are the eight stories that defined Kenya’s construction sector in 2025.

With a target of 200,000 new homes a year, over 140,000 units were already under construction by mid-year, spread across Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, and smaller towns.

To speed things up, you’ll notice more "pre-fab" (factory-made) walls and modular building methods being used.

For contractors and engineers, this means fast-moving projects, predictable workflows, and large volumes of repeatable work, especially for specialists in structural, mechanical, and electrical systems.

The programme is also reshaping the materials supply chain. 

Demand for cement, timber, fittings, and finishing materials has surged, while logistics and construction equipment hire are seeing steady upticks. 

For private builders, 2025 was a mixed bag. 

Prices for cement and timber eased a bit, but steel and bitumen (for driveways) are still climbing. 

Banks remained cautious, with high interest rates slowing down many personal projects.

Those who can navigate financing and procurement were very well positioned to tap into one of the largest sources of work in the country.

The Ministry of Transport secured roughly KSh175 billion in private financing (we wrote all about it here), allowing it to clear arrears and restart more than 580 stalled road projects across the country.

For contractors, this was an immediate reset. 

Projects that had been idle due to non-payment suddenly moved back into execution, and firms that had been carrying unpaid certificates finally saw cash begin to flow.

The impact extended well beyond road builders. 

Once payments resumed, demand quickly picked up across the supply chain, from cement and steel manufacturers to transporters and equipment hire companies. 

Road networks sit at the centre of construction logistics.

So restarting these projects reactivated manufacturing schedules, delivery routes, and transport contracting cycles across the sector.

We've done an in-depth article on the Infrastructure Fund in this article here.

But, the basic idea behind the Fund is to make sure big projects get paid for without relying only on government taxes or borrowing.

Instead of waiting for annual budgets or loans, the fund pulls money from long-term investors (like pension funds, insurance companies, and development financiers) and uses it to pay for roads, rail, power, etc.

In other words, infrastructure is treated less like a government expense and more like an investment that can fund future building.

For the construction sector, this shift matters.

When funding is tied to annual budgets, projects often slow or stop when cash runs tight.

A dedicated infrastructure fund is meant to smooth those cycles, keeping money flowing even when budgets are under pressure.

But expectations need to be realistic: an infrastructure fund does not automatically solve cash-flow problems. 

Its success depends on how well it is managed, how clearly rules are set, and whether funds are protected from being diverted to short-term needs.

The project is a multi‑billion dollar rail extension that will connect Kenya to Uganda and DR Congo. 

The scope will involve massive civil works, including:

Each of these will require careful planning and significant engineering resources. 

Rail projects also operate on long procurement and supply cycles, so contractors, subcontractors, and materials suppliers need to scale capabilities well in advance to meet timelines. 

On the operational side, once built, these rail extensions will change how goods are moved across the region. 

Local firms will need to rethink their schedules, resources, and priorities to keep up.

Along with the SGR extensions to Kisumu and Malaba, the government announced plans to upgrade 2,500 km of highways into wider, multi-lane roads (also known as “road dualling”). 

An additional 28,000 km of roads will be paved over the next decade. 

Road dualling is capital-intensive and technically demanding. 

Quality assurance, design optimization, and traffic management will be essential areas for local engineering expertise.

Engineers, surveyors, and construction firms are likely to see steady pipelines of work on bridges, interchanges, and supporting infrastructure.

On the operational side, these projects will unlock faster transport within Kenya and across East Africa.

This will, in turn, reduce logistics costs, a major pain point for manufacturing and construction supply chains.

Typically, Kenya's infrastructure pricing tends to work more like an art than a science.

Two similar projects could come in with wildly different costs, the budget could expand unpredictably, and estimates often changed mid-project.

It wasn’t always corruption.

Sometimes, it was:

But the result was the same: nobody could confidently explain why a project cost what it did.

In 2025, the government tried to change that.

Kenya has now introduced a National Infrastructure Pricing Framework, aimed at bringing more consistency to how projects are costed and approved.

This policy shift is a signal that Kenya is trying to align its systems with how serious infrastructure markets operate elsewhere.

The strong turnout was a signal that the local construction sector is growing and drawing global attention.

The exhibition showcased new construction technologies, building materials, and sustainable practices, giving local firms a clear view of where global standards are heading.

Industry exhibitions are often early indicators of market sentiment, and this level of turnout suggests confidence in Kenya’s construction pipeline (despite wider economic pressures).

Strong foreign participation also points to new partnership opportunities, especially for local firms looking to integrate into regional and international supply chains.

The plan, covering roads, rail, airports, power systems, and more, will guide public and private project pipelines for the next decade.

If executed well, it will providd more stable workflows, financing cycles, and procurement opportunities for contractors and engineers.

This is great news. 

A clear long-term plan makes it easier to anticipate which projects will come up and how much they will cost, something the construction industry often finds difficult.

But, there's a catch: 

As much as a government-backed infrastructure program creates more work for manufacturers, engineers, and construction workers, it also puts pressure on deciding which projects to do first and how to pay for them.