Treasury secretary Ukur Yatani says the new PPP Act, signed into law on December 7, has cut down on bureaucracy and timelines for implementing the projects.
The Treasury has prioritised roads, electricity transmission, ports, housing, health, water and sanitation projects for private sector investment under the build-own-operate (BOO) framework.
The state struggled to attract private investors under the previous PPP legal regime which came to force in 2013 largely due to bureaucracies and a complex governance structure.
The Treasury has set sights on Sh350 billion fresh investments in key public infrastructure projects from private investors in one year after the overhaul of the Public-Private Partnerships law.
Treasury secretary Ukur Yatani says the new PPP Act, signed into law on December 7, has cut down on bureaucracy and timelines for implementing the projects while balancing risk with affordability and value for money for investors.
The Treasury has prioritised roads, electricity transmission, ports, housing, health, water and sanitation projects for private sector investment under the build-own-operate (BOO) framework.
The private investors hand over the projects to the government at the end of the concession period which has been capped at 30 years.
“The PPP targets to unlock at least Sh350 billion in the next 12 months in new development capital for priority projects in these sectors,” Mr Yatani says in the budget guideline document.
“Climate proofing of the PPP projects portfolio is additionally at the centre of PPP project design, with the view to promoting government’s commitment to environmental and social sustainability.”
The state struggled to attract private investors under the previous PPP legal regime which came to force in 2013 largely due to bureaucracies and a complex governance structure.
The Treasury says 45 projects are either being implemented or in active operation under the PPP model. These include six road projects covering 639km under the roads annuity and tolling programmes and 39 electricity generation projects with cumulative 3,034 megawatts (MW) of installed capacity.
Some of the major road projects include 27.1 km the Nairobi Expressway linking Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) to the James Gichuru junction on Waiyaki Way and Sh160 billion Nairobi to Mau Summit Highway.
The new law allows entities in PPP deals to single-source work through direct procurement and Privately-Initiated Investment Proposals (PIIPs), unlike the previous law which limited investors to competitive bidding processes.
“The new PPP Directorate will be at the centre of PPP programme design and implementation going forward, and will play a central role in public investment programming and design, alongside the Public Investment Management function at the National Treasury,” Mr Yatani says.
“This centralised coordination of all public investment programmes will directly contribute to budget efficiency while promoting private sector participation in public service delivery.”
