President William Ruto has revealed that the expansion of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) will be the first project to be financed by the National Infrastructure Fund (NIF).
The President made the announcement on Monday, March 9, after assenting to the National Infrastructure Fund Bill 2026 at State House, Nairobi.
“Today, I am pleased to announce that the expansion of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport will be the first major project financed through this new model of financing under the National Infrastructure Fund,” Ruto said.
The Head of State noted that about Ksh20 billion from the proceeds of the privatization of the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) will be channeled to the expansion of JKIA.
“We just announced the contract for the expansion of JKIA, and between Ksh15 and Ksh 20 billion from the proceeds of the Kenya Pipeline IPO will go to financing the seed money for the expansion of JKIA,” said the President.
President Ruto also said on Tuesday, March 10, he will preside over the inauguration of the KPC on the Nairobi Securities Exchange.
The President mentioned that the KPC IPO has generated KSh109 billion, which will be channeled to the National Infrastructure Fund.
“Tomorrow morning, I will ring the bell to inaugurate trading of the Kenya Pipeline Company on the Nairobi Securities Exchange, fulfilling a commitment I made three years ago.
“The Kenya Pipeline Company IPO has generated 106 billion shillings that will be used to capitalise the National Infrastructure Fund,” he stated.
Ruto highlighted that his government plans to mobilise up to Ksh1.2 trillion for infrastructure investment, with the target expected to grow up to Ksh5 trillion over the next ten years.
“Our goal is to leverage this capital at least twelve times, mobilising up to 1.2 trillion shillings for infrastructure investment. Over time, this model will enable Kenya to mobilise close to five trillion shillings in infrastructure investment over the next decade,” Ruto said.
Further, President Ruto said, mobilising domestic capital will help the government to solve three major challenges that arise when development depends excessively on foreign financing.
This includes: the mismatch of investment horizons, the cost of capital, and currency mismatch.
“When infrastructure is financed in foreign currency while the revenues are earned in Kenyan shillings, exchange rate volatility introduces significant risk. This challenge has long affected many of our utilities, particularly in the electricity sector,” the President remarked.
