Bridge built by China in Kenya collapses just before its inauguration.

A $10 million bridge built by China in western Kenya unexpectedly collapsed just before its scheduled opening next month, injuring at least 27 construction workers.

Photos of the collapsed bridge built by China in Kenya have been posted on social media. Photo: Twitter.

According to Quartz, a bridge under construction by China in Budalangi, Busia, western Kenya, unexpectedly collapsed on June 26th. The incident injured at least 27 construction workers.

The Kenyan government has ordered a halt to construction of the bridge and dispatched a team of engineers to the site to investigate the cause of the collapse. The incident occurred less than two weeks after Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta personally inspected the bridge.

President Kenyatta had previously pledged to build a bridge across the river in the town of Busia following a boat capsizing incident that killed 11 people on the river.

The company awarded the contract by the Kenyan government to build this 100-meter-long bridge is the China Overseas Construction Group (COEG). This group is a subsidiary of China Railway, one of the world's largest construction companies.

Before construction began, COEG worked with the UK-based non-profit organization Safer World to engage with local residents and reassure them about the safety of the bridge construction project.

The collapsed bridge was scheduled to be inaugurated in July. Photo: Twitter

Project management director Jerome Hua, representing COEG, said: “This is a very unusual incident because we followed all the project owner’s standards. We have experienced engineers, but we were also really surprised by what happened.”

According to Quartz, the bridge collapse in Kenya has once again raised questions about the quality of construction projects built by Chinese companies in Africa.

Over the past 10 years, Chinese companies have increasingly won infrastructure construction contracts in Africa, but have also encountered numerous problems related to the quality and safety of these projects.

In 2009, roads in Zambia built by China were destroyed after heavy rains. Meanwhile, in 2010, a hospital built by China in Angola also had to evacuate patients after local officials warned the structure could collapse due to poor construction quality.

According to Dan Tri