From Nakuru to Japan: The Kenyan structural engineer behind some of the world's iconic bridges

Victor Nago Maina grew up in Nakuru, attended Starehe Boys Centre in Nairobi and is now one of the engineers behind some of the most notable bridge infrastructure in Asia.

Based in Japan, he works as a design engineer specialising in steel bridges, with projects spanning Vietnam, India and beyond.

Maina's path to Japan began in 2002 when the Japanese government extended scholarships to Kenyan high school students.

He was at Starehe Boys Centre at the time, and a teacher encouraged him to apply.

He got it and relocated to Japan, joining Osaka University to study civil engineering with a specialisation in structural engineering.

He was the only Kenyan in the university, which had just two to three other African students.

In an interview on Chams Media's Daring Abroad programme, he traced his interest in the field back further.

"When I was around 11, I was tasked with the project of building a poultry house by myself. I had to source timber, nails, other materials, and budget for them to build the house. I think that is where my passion for engineering started," he said.

After completing his undergraduate degree, he enrolled for a Master's.

When his studies ended, the scholarship gave him the option of returning to Kenya or finding work in Japan.

He chose to stay.

"I decided that since I had already spent seven years as a student learning the Japanese language and culture, it would be a waste of time for me to go back home without seeking some job experience," he said.

He eventually secured a position as a design engineer at a firm specialising in steel bridges.

Maina's most well-known project is the Nhat Tan Bridge in Hanoi, Vietnam, also officially called the Vietnam-Japan Friendship Bridge.

The cable-stayed bridge spans the Red River and was inaugurated on January 4, 2015.

Construction began in 2009, and the bridge serves as a new gateway to Hanoi, significantly reducing travel time to Noi Bai International Airport.

The five A-shaped towers symbolise Hanoi's five ancient gates, giving the bridge both structural and cultural significance.

When it opened, the Nhat Tan Bridge became Vietnam's longest steel cable-stayed bridge.

The superstructure uses a composite girder-cable-stayed system incorporating steel I-girders and precast concrete deck slabs, with over 14,500 tonnes of steel and 15,900 cubic metres of concrete.

The bridge's support towers are founded on steel-pipe sheet-pile well foundations, used here for the first time in Vietnam.

In 2017, a LED lighting system capable of displaying up to 16.7 million colours was installed, transforming the bridge into a nightly landmark.

Maina was part of the design team behind the bridge, which has since become one of the defining infrastructure projects of modern Hanoi.

In India, Maina contributed to the design of a Mumbai bridge that, by his account, took seven years of planning.

His expertise in that project saw him appointed to a committee of the Indian Road Congress, the body responsible for reviewing road design standards in India.

Beyond Vietnam and India, Maina's work has taken him to Bangladesh, Turkey and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

He remains connected to the Kenyan community in Japan through professional and social networks.

"Many Kenyan civil engineers are working in Japan, and we often talk and socialise. Our main networking platform is the Association of Kenyans in Japan. However, we also meet in professional circles," he said.

Maina has expressed a desire to eventually return to Kenya and lead a project of comparable scale on home soil, a goal he has spoken about publicly on multiple occasions.