The National Infrastructure Fund would only be allowed to commit a maximum of 20 per cent of its assets to a single project under a proposed investment policy that sets financial rules for funding major infrastructure projects across the country.
The proposed rules are contained in the National Infrastructure Fund’s Investment Policy, Sessional Paper No. 7 of 2026, which is before the National Assembly’s Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning.
The policy sets out where the Fund can invest, how it can structure its investments and the limits that will apply when committing money to individual sectors and projects.
Under the proposed framework, the Fund would invest in national highways, railway networks, airports and seaports, and electricity generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure.
ICT infrastructure, water reservoirs, irrigation and agribusiness infrastructure are also listed as eligible investments.
National Infrastructure Fund Limits on Investments
The proposed 20 per cent cap means the Fund could not commit more than one-fifth of its assets to a single project.
The policy also proposes a minimum equity return of 7 per cent on investments and caps the amount of the Fund’s assets that can be committed to a single sector at 40 per cent..
The limits would prevent a large share of the Fund from being committed to one sector or project.
Also Read: CS Mbadi Appoints New Members to National Infrastructure Fund Board
How Projects Will Be Financed
The policy also proposes that projects should have the capacity to raise at least 60 per cent of their financing through non-recourse project debt.
Under this arrangement, lenders would rely mainly on the assets and expected cash flows of a project for repayment.
The Fund would not be allowed to use balance sheet borrowing under the proposed investment policy.
Investment Options
The Board would be allowed to invest through direct investments, equity, quasi-equity and debt instruments.
Other avenues include project finance structures, special purpose vehicles, infrastructure funds, pooled investment vehicles, co-investment platforms and capital market instruments.
The policy also outlines the investment framework for the National Infrastructure Fund as it seeks to channel capital into large-scale projects while setting limits on risk and the concentration of investments.
Public comments on the policy are expected by August 24 at 5 pm, when they should be submitted to the National Assembly’s Finance and National Planning Committee.
Also Read: Ruto Appoints National Infrastructure Fund Governing Council
Ruto’s Vision for the Fund
President William Ruto has previously described the establishment of the National Infrastructure Fund as one of the most significant initiatives in Kenya’s development history, saying it would transform how major infrastructure projects are financed.
“The establishment of the National Infrastructure Fund is the most consequential initiative in the development history of our nation,” Ruto said, describing the fund as a new chapter in financing Kenya’s transformation.
According to the President, the fund was expected to help close the country’s infrastructure financing gap by raising more than KSh5 trillion for major projects.
The projects outlined by Ruto include the production of 10,000 megawatts of clean energy, construction of 50 mega dams, 200 micro-dams and more than 1,000 small dams, as well as 2,500 kilometres of dual carriageways and 28,000 kilometres of roads.
Ruto also said the fund would finance the extension of the Standard Gauge Railway from Naivasha to Malaba and Kisumu, as well as the expansion of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
He said the fund would package Kenya’s infrastructure p++riorities into investable instruments and create a framework capable of attracting private investment while reducing risks in the economy.
“The Kenyan National Infrastructure Fund is not an experiment; it is a model that has succeeded in other jurisdictions,” Ruto said.
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