Turner & Townsend buys Kenyan project management firm

Hoping to capitalise on rising infrastructure investment in Kenya, UK-based consultant Turner & Townsend will merge its business there with Nairobi-based project management firm Mentor Management Limited (MML). 

Turner & Townsend has acquired a majority stake in MML from investor Actis. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval.

The new entity, MML Turner & Townsend, will operate in the real estate, infrastructure and natural resource sectors.

"The merger comes as global investment is fuelling Kenya’s diverse economy," Turner & Townsend said. "Construction activity, most notably in infrastructure, is being driven by institutional and private investment from overseas."

Major projects underway in the country include: the Northern Corridor Transport Improvement Project (NCTIP); the Lamu Port and Lamu Southern Sudan-Ethiopian Transport Corridor (LAPSSET); Lokichar to Lamu pipeline corridor; the new Mombasa-Nairobi Expressway and the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway Project. 

MML has been operating from Nairobi since 1987 delivered a number of major projects including: Garden City Nairobi, one of East Africa’s largest shopping malls; an 11,000-sq-m cargo handling facility for Swissport; and a new chancery for the Australian High Commission.

Vincent Clancy, Turner & Townsend Chairman and CEO, commented: "The merger of our Kenya operation with MML, sees MML Turner & Townsend become the largest independent project and programme management company in East Africa. This is the next step in our Africa expansion plan as we continue to grow across the continent."

Turner & Townsend’s existing team will join MML’s Nairobi operation, as a combined team of more than 40 delivering a range of services including programme, cost and project management.

Image: The new combined team of  MML Turner & Townsend (Turner & Townsend)