The Government of Kenya (GoK) has since 2009 rolled out deliberate measures to strengthen PPPs to deliver the country’s Vision 2030 goals on infrastructure development and public service provision. In March 2009, GoK under the Public Procurement and Disposal (Public Private Partnership) Regulations 2009, established an institutional framework that empowered the National Treasury to put in place the PPP Secretariat to undertake the recruitment of private interests aspiring to participate in the provision of public services.

The PPP ecosystem was further strengthened in 2011 when GoK adopted a PPP Policy that articulated and underscored the Government’s commitment to PPPs and laid the foundation for an enabling environment for attracting private sector partners in financing and managing infrastructure services.

The most significant boost to the country’s PPP architecture, however, came on 8th February 2013 when the Government enacted the PPP Act 2013 that provided for Institutional and Procedural Benchmarks to among others: set up critical institutions to chaperone the PPP life-cycle; provide a clear mechanism for project identification/origination, development and implementation; and prescribe a structured and predictable process and method to be followed in undertaking PPPs. The Act set up the PPP Committee and established the PPP Unit within the National Treasury.

Mandate of the Directorate

The Directorate is mandated to facilitate the implementation of the Public Private Partnership Programme and Projects in Kenya. As the secretariat and technical arm of the PPP Committee, the Directorate is the nerve centre of PPP expertise and operations in the country.
It’s key technical roles include providing support to Implementing Agencies (otherwise called Contracting Authorities) through the various stages of infrastructure project life-cycle from project identification, appraisal, procurement through to the phases of negotiation, contracting and operational stages – ensuring the projects are bankable, well-structured and of public benefit. It also provides legal, financial and communications advisory services to Contracting Authorities (CAs). Further, the Unit empowers CAs by building their capacities on PPPs. More importantly, the Unit champions policy initiatives aimed at improving the legal and regulatory environment governing the PPP Programme in the country.

The Programme’s scope of operations include national and county government entities, state corporations as well as the private sector with regard to developing and implementing critical infrastructure and other development projects. Key works covered by the Programme include expansion and refurbishment of existing assets such as:

• airports
• inland container depots and logistics hubs
• petroleum infrastructure, such as storage depots and distribution pipelines etc.
• ports
• power generation plants and transmission/distribution networks
• railways
• roads and bridges
• social infrastructure for health care, prisons, education
• solid waste management
• water supply, treatment and distribution systems

The Directorate runs a Fund – the Project Facilitation Fund – which is available for access by Contracting Authorities to support:

1. The preparation of PPP projects through project identification, screening, feasibility study and project appraisal to ensure that projects are bankable and attractive to potential bidders;
2. PPP projects by financing project development expenditure, transaction advisory and advisor fees, feasibility studies and viability gap funding and
3. liquidity support for fiscal commitments and contingent liabilities accruing from PPP projects.