Columnists

Vision 2030: Revamp infrastructure pipeline

col2-pic

Pneumatic rollers carry out pavement works on the road from the Changamwe roundabout interchange on June 30, 2021. PHOTO | WACHIRA MWANGI | NMG

Infrastructure investment, if well channelled, has a huge positive multiplier effect on an economy. During the G7 meeting in June 2021 in Cornwall, the US President reiterated the importance of infrastructure investment in stimulating economic growth.

President Joe Biden pushed for an affirmative global action, the Build Back Better World (B3W), an infrastructure partnership aimed at narrowing the $40 trillion+ infrastructure financing need in the developing world.

In 2008, Kenya launched a long-term economic development blueprint dabbed the Vision 2030 that demonstrated Kenya’s aspirations to be an industrialised, middle-income country providing high quality of life to all citizens by 2030.

While infrastructure was identified as one of the key economic drivers under the Economic Pillar of the vision, very limited information was provided on the long-term plan.

The lack of a long-term infrastructure strategy to guide the choice, the financing mechanism, the standards, the implementation and management of these projects is the missing link that is stifling the timely implementation of the plan.

For Kenya to attract more infrastructure investment especially from the private sector, we need to embark on long-term infrastructure planning that aims at building a National Infrastructure Strategy.

The strategy should help in the identification of the long-term infrastructure pipeline, the financing strategy and the establishment of construction and implementation standards.

The infrastructure planning process should bring on board the national and county governments, the infrastructure contracting authorities, government agencies, relevant government ministries and all other key stakeholders, including the public.

The objective of this exercise is to develop an interconnected, prioritised, time-bound, climate and tech-smart infrastructure project pipeline that will steer the Country into achieving the long-term vision.