President William Ruto has renewed his push for private investment in Kenya’s road network, saying the country can no longer rely on the national budget and costly borrowing to roll out major infrastructure.
- •Speaking during the launch of the Nairobi–Nakuru–Mau Summit and Nairobi–Maai Mahiu–Naivasha dual-carriageway projects, Ruto said traditional funding models had slowed development and left the country “trapped between options that held back progress.”
- •The President said megaprojects had become impossible to fund through the Exchequer alone, noting that a single modern highway can take up nearly half of the annual development budget.
- •Under the two new concessions, 233 kilometres of road will be financed, expanded and operated through a long-term public–private partnership worth more than KSh170 billion.
“Borrowing more would add to our debt burden, and raising taxes would suffocate families,” he said. “We must build differently, and we must build smarter.”
Ruto said the model marks the start of a new era where private capital takes the lead in building large transport corridors.
Ruto also tied the PPP approach to his wider economic plan, which includes growing engineering talent, modernising energy infrastructure, building dams, and expanding industrial production. Kenya, he said, must add 10,000 megawatts of new power to support future industries, data centres and manufacturing.
The government is now preparing a fresh wave of dual-carriageway projects, including the Muthaiga–Kiambu, Machakos Junction–Mariakani and Mau Summit–Kisumu corridors. The Standard Gauge Railway is also set to be extended from Naivasha to Kisumu and later to Malaba beginning January 2026.
To sustain these developments, Ruto announced the creation of a National Infrastructure Fund and a Sovereign Wealth Fund, to be financed through privatisation proceeds, natural resource royalties, budgetary allocations and private investment.
