The origins of a regulatory body for the construction industry begin as far back as post-independence Kenya. African contractors wanted the establishment of a state agency that would agitate for their rights and protect their interests in an industry that was dominated by British and Indian contractors. This eventually led to the National Construction Corporation Bill in 1972 that sought to register NCA’s predecessor, National Construction Corporation (NCC), as a parastatal. The NCC’s main functions were to build capacity in the industry through training and to provide financial assistance to the contractors to enable them to properly establish themselves.

Unfortunately, despite the best of efforts, NCC collapsed in 1988. The issues the industry was facing had only gotten bigger and more dynamic with changing times. Intense lobbying on the part of stakeholders in the industry finally led to the enactment of the National Construction Authority Act in 2011. The Act was assented to on 2nd December 2011 and operationalized on 8th June 2012. The National Construction Authority Regulations, which operationalize the Act, were passed on June 6th, 2014.