• Kenya’s Parliament approves a National Infrastructure Fund to mobilize about $39 billion over the next decade.
• The fund aims to attract both public and private capital for transport, energy, water and digital infrastructure.
• The initiative is designed to reduce reliance on debt and revive stalled megaprojects.

Kenya’s Parliament on March 5 approved legislation creating a National Infrastructure Fund (NIF) for 2026, a move that marks a key step in the country’s strategy to finance large development projects.

The new mechanism aims to mobilize nearly 5 trillion Kenyan shillings, or about $38.7 billion, over the next decade. Authorities say the goal is to move infrastructure financing away from a model heavily reliant on public borrowing toward a system more focused on investment.

The fund is designed to mobilize resources for major projects across several strategic sectors, including transport, energy, water and digital connectivity. It will support the development of highways, rail networks, ports and agro-industrial infrastructure.

Unlike earlier financing approaches largely based on government debt, the new fund is structured to attract both public and private capital. Officials see it as a way to diversify funding sources for major national projects.

The initiative follows an announcement made in October 2025 by President William Ruto, who said the government planned to establish both a sovereign wealth fund and an infrastructure fund. The objective is to ease the country’s dependence on borrowing, support economic transformation and unlock funding for projects slowed by budget constraints.

Several large transport initiatives have stalled in recent years due to financing gaps. Among them are the planned extension of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) to Uganda, the expansion of Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), and multiple road construction projects.

Henoc Dossa