Kenya needs trillion a year to fund projects

What you need to know:

  • The G20’s Global Infrastructure Outlook Report released Tuesday said $206 billion (about Sh21.4 trillion) is required to cater to the country’s infrastructure needs for the next 23 years.
  • It urges Kenya to increase its spending on infrastructure by 41 per cent in order to meet its needs by 2040 and achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
  • Kenya’s population is expected to increase by 35 million people by 2040 coupled with economic growth of 5.5 per cent, the study said.

Kenya requires about Sh1 trillion a year to create a 21st-century transportation, water, and communications as well as electricity infrastructure system according to a new global report that calls on policymakers to help “close the investment gap.”

The G20’s Global Infrastructure Outlook Report released Tuesday — covering infrastructure investment needs globally for 50 countries and seven sectors — said $206 billion (about Sh21.4 trillion) is required to cater to the country’s infrastructure needs for the next 23 years.

It urges Kenya to increase its spending on infrastructure by 41 per cent in order to meet its needs by 2040 and achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Kenya’s population is expected to increase by 35 million people by 2040 coupled with economic growth of 5.5 per cent, the study said.

Consequently, the report says, more than $310 billion (about Sh32 trillion) will be needed if Kenya is to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for universal household access to drinking water and electricity by 2030 — including a fourfold increase in electricity investment.

“Outlook is a comprehensive and detailed analysis of infrastructure investment need. It gives the new country and sector spending data that governments and funding organisations have been calling for,” said Global Infrastructure Hub CEO Chris Heathcote.

East African states estimate ongoing mega infrastructure projects to require about Sh60 trillion ($60.671 billion).

In Kenya, mega projects whose implementation is in various stages include construction of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport’s second runway, Isiolo Airport, Lamu port and Nairobi-Kisumu standard gauge railway.

The report was produced after year-long research G20’s Global Infrastructure Hub (GI Hub) in partnership with Oxford Economics.