Kenya is targeting raising funds to the tune of Sh466 billion from private investors to undertake key water and sewerage projects under the public-private partnership (PPP) model.
The National Water and Sanitation Investment Plan (Nawasip) has projected a funding gap of Sh995 billion to achieve universal water and sewerage services access by 2030. Out of this, the government says it will raise Sh529 billion, leaving a gap of Sh466 billion.
Regulator, the Water Services Regulatory Board (Wasreb), has revealed that the government will also raise Sh23 billion from households through additional water tariffs to help plug the financing deficit.
“To fund this gap, it is necessary to leverage public private partnerships and blended financing mechanisms to attract private and commercial investments,” says Wasreb in its latest annual report for the year to June 2023.
The water regulator said by June 2023, some 12.24 million Kenyans had access to water, which is more than half the population.
However, only 4.4 million people are connected to sewer services, it said.
While the focus of authorities has largely been on water projects, it has emerged that sewer services receive scant attention, posing risk to the health especially of urban citizens.
For instance, in the year to June 2023, Wasreb says that despite a 2.6 percent increase in the number of people served, the ratio of the population receiving sewerage services remained constant at 16 percent.
The government in recent years sought the support of development financiers such as the African Development Bank (AfDB) to undertake key sewerage projects.
Kenya and AfDB, for instance, recently kicked off the second phase of the Nairobi Rivers Rehabilitation and Restoration Programme (NaRSIP) to improve access to water and sewerage services in Nairobi.
The first phase of the African Development Bank-funded programme, NaRSIP I, ran between 2012 and 2017. The two projects are being done by Athi Water Works Development Agency.
NaRSIP II aims to increase the coverage of improved sanitation services from 48 percent to 55 percent within the city, while simultaneously focusing on improving the quality of the Nairobi rivers.
The programme includes construction works for rehabilitation of Dandora Estate Sewerage Treatment Plant, construction of Kahawa West, Githurai 44 and Githurai 45 and Kahawa Sukari reticulation sewers, construction of Mwiki and Clay works reticulation sewers.
It will also see the construction of East and West of Nairobi reticulation sewers and construction works for extension of water and sewerage intervention for informal settlements.
