Vehicle manufacturing company, Foton is in talks with the Nairobi government to supply about 200 buses to the County in a contract worth millions of dollars, thus improving the County’s transportation system while increasing the Chinese firm’s local share.

The deal is in line with the County’s plan of initiating a public transport system later in the year that is cheaper, safer and more reliable than the current transport system operated by private investors.

According to Evans Ondieki, the County’s Executive for Roads and Transport, “Foton put in a serious bid for the supply of the buses and we will soon table it for approval by the county assembly.”

With a grant of Sh1 billion ($11.5 billion) from CDI Global, a merger and acquisition firm, Ondieki added that the County planned to increase the buses with about 2000 units over the next three years and other companies might be considered for the contract.

Even though the contract has not been signed yet and details of bus specifications and seating capacity have not been divulged, Foton is expected to ship in the bus units from China.

The deal would help ease Nairobi County’s public transport system while favourably positioning the Chinese-based firm in a sector that has established players like Toyota, CMC Holdings and General Motors.