NAIROBI, Kenya — President William Ruto has said the National Infrastructure Fund has begun financing redevelopment works at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), as the government seeks to expand infrastructure development while reducing reliance on traditional borrowing.
Speaking during the Broad-Based Government Parliamentary Group media briefing in Naivasha on Monday, Ruto said the fund was created to mobilise domestic and foreign capital for major infrastructure projects.
“For the record, the National Infrastructure Fund has already begun work with the construction of the airport in Jomo Kenyatta,” Ruto said.
The President linked the fund’s use at JKIA to the government’s broader infrastructure ambitions, including a plan to develop an additional 28,000 kilometres of tarmac roads across the country.
“We have now set our eyes on building another 28,000 kilometres of tarmac in Kenya. And that is the reason why we enacted the National Infrastructure Fund, to provide resources in an innovative way to mobilize domestic and foreign resources to underwrite our infrastructure development as a nation,” he said.
New model for infrastructure financing
The National Infrastructure Fund is intended to provide an alternative mechanism for financing commercially viable public infrastructure projects.
Under the framework, the state-sponsored investment vehicle is designed to mobilise private capital and other non-traditional sources of financing, including investments from institutional investors and pension funds.
The model also allows the government to leverage proceeds from the privatisation of state assets alongside other investments to finance infrastructure.
The approach is aimed at easing pressure on the national budget and reducing Kenya’s reliance on sovereign borrowing for projects capable of generating commercial returns.
According to the National Infrastructure Investment Fund Act, the fund’s objectives include accelerating national infrastructure development, mobilising private capital, reducing dependence on public debt for commercially viable projects and strengthening the country’s ability to structure and execute complex infrastructure investments.
Airports, roads among priority projects
The fund is expected to support projects across sectors including transport, energy, water and irrigation.
Potential investments include highways, railway networks, airports, seaports, irrigation schemes and power-generation projects that meet the required commercial viability criteria.
Ruto said the government’s infrastructure programme would extend beyond Nairobi, with the planned road construction expected to improve connectivity and support economic activity across the country.
The use of the fund for JKIA redevelopment therefore represents an early test of the government’s plan to shift towards alternative infrastructure financing.
Ruto hails financing reform
Ruto has previously described the establishment of the National Infrastructure Fund as a major change in the way Kenya finances development.
While assenting to the National Infrastructure Fund Bill, the President said the initiative would allow Kenya to rely more heavily on domestic and private investment rather than excessive public borrowing.
“The establishment of the National Infrastructure Fund is the most consequential initiative in the development history of our nation,” Ruto said.
“The fund marks a new chapter in financing our transformation, making us the architects of our own future.”
The President’s latest remarks come as his administration seeks to accelerate major infrastructure projects while confronting fiscal constraints and the rising cost of conventional government borrowing.
