Contested Practices

Abstract

Abstract In recent years, Chinese companies have emerged as key players in Kenya’s infrastructure construction boom. They are now involved in several high-profile infrastructure projects in the country. Although many factors drive this increased activity, Chinese companies have particularly capitalized on a unique set of practices to illustrate their competitiveness. Interestingly, some of these practices have sparked controversies with host communities. While there is growing literature on Chinese investments in Kenya, local perceptions and interactions with Chinese activities are often overlooked, despite their significant impact on infrastructure projects. By examining the case of Kenya’s Lamu Port, constructed by a consortium of Chinese companies headed by China Communication Construction Company (CCCC), this chapter scrutinizes controversies surrounding its activities to showcase the agency of local communities in shaping both the construction process and influencing the activities and policies of the company CCCC. In this endeavor, the study draws inspiration from Behrends et al’s (2014) conceptualization of “travelling models” to illustrate how practices move and how host communities engage with them. The chapter thus contributes to our understanding of both the contexts in which Chinese companies operate and the agency of local communities in shaping the governance practices of Chinese companies.