During the opening of the Kenya International Investment Conference 2026 (KIICO 2026) in Nairobi, the government did not miss the opportunity to unveil nearly 50 public-private partnership (PPP) infrastructure projects up for investment across roads, ports, and energy.
- •Officials at the conference said that the projects are at different stages of preparation, ranging from feasibility studies to procurement, negotiations and implementation.
- •The projects were presented as part of the investment agenda unveiled during the opening ceremony by President William Ruto, alongside more than US$2.9 billion in signed investment deals announced as the event opened.
- •According to the Director General of the PPPs Directorate Kefa Seda, 20 projects are already grouped within one infrastructure cluster, while another 12 are under feasibility studies and expected to be ready for investors before the end of the year.
Moreover, four projects are already under procurement, two are in negotiations expected to conclude in the next few months, and one reached commercial closure in December last year and is now awaiting fulfilment of conditions before financing can begin. About 10 projects are already under implementation, operations or maintenance.
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The Director General stated that opportunities for investment by private sector players will be augmented by the newly launched National Infrastructure Fund (NIF), positioned to pool funding for critical infrastructure while reducing reliance on public debt. He also added that PPPs have mobilized over US$1 billion in private capital since 2013, with over US$100 million mobilized in the last financial year.
Roads, Ports, and Power
The pipeline includes several large-scale toll-road and transport projects, led by a proposed upgrade of the 461-kilometre highway linking Nairobi and Mombasa, which the government plans to expand and convert into a toll road to address traffic volumes that already exceed the road’s current capacity. The project is estimated to cost nearly KSh 468 billion.
The corridor forms part of Trans‑African Highway No. 4 and is being positioned not only as a transport project but as a broader economic corridor that would include special economic zones (SEZs) and logistics hubs along the route.
A second road project presented at the conference focuses on the 243-kilometre corridor between Mau Summit and Malaba, which is also being structured as a PPP and positioned as a regional trade corridor linked to the wider trans-African highway network. The project has already secured feasibility-study support from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and is expected to cost about KSh 130 billion.
Port infrastructure also forms a major part of the pipeline. Seda said that feasibility studies have already been completed for several assets operated by Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), including container terminals and multiple berths at the Port of Mombasa and the Lamu Port, as well as the Lamu Special Economic Zone.
The first group of port assets being prepared for investors is estimated to require about KSh 195 billion in capital, with additional older berths at the Port of Mombasa also being prepared for feasibility studies before being taken to market. The development of these assets are expected to increase container and cargo handling capacity and strengthen regional trade connectivity.
Energy projects form another major component of the PPP programme. Officials presented a plan to develop new electricity transmission lines across multiple regions of the country to expand access to power and improve the ability to move electricity from generation sources to consumers.
The transmission projects, including new lines in the coastal region and eastern Kenya, are expected to cost about KSh 71.5 billion. The transmission lines include the 145 km Kiambere-Maua-Isiolo 220kV line and the 80 km Kwale-Shimoni 220kV line.
Irrigation, Desalination Plans and a Commercial Spaceport
The pipeline also includes a large multipurpose hydropower and irrigation project known as the Kibuka Falls dam, which is being designed to generate about 700 megawatts of electricity while also supplying irrigation water and potable water to Tharaka Nithi and Kitui counties, and other downstream agricultural areas. The project is estimated to cost about KSh 156 billion and would be one of the largest new power developments presented at the conference.
Investors were also called to finance the KSh 106 billion desalination plant in Lamu, the KSh 39.8 billion Suswa Geothermal power project, dam and irrigation projects across Turkana, Murang'a, Kericho, Isiolo, Samburu, and Embu counties.
Other infrastructural projects highlighted at the conference include a proposed commercial spaceport in Malindi, which officials said is still at the feasibility-study stage and is being considered because of Kenya’s location near the equator. The project is expected to cost about US$124 million and would be one of the first commercial space-launch facilities proposed in East Africa.
Aside from infrastructure, the PPP Directorate also highlighted that funding from the private sector was needed to expedite the Life Sciences Park in Machakos, which is slated to cost KSh 28.4 billion. The Galana Kulalu Project in Kilifi and Tana River counties is also projected to require KSh 89.9 billion in investment.
The government urged the private sector to seize these opportunities as they were embedded in sectors where markets are expanding, competitiveness is strengthening, and scale can be achieved. Kenya plans to improve manufacturing’s contribution to the GDP to 20% and intends to achieve this by supporting the construction of industrial parks, Special Economic Zones (SEZs), and Export Processing Zones (EPZs) that will promote tax breaks and duty exemptions for investors.
