East Africa’s ambition to narrow its infrastructure gap through public-private partnerships (PPPs) is gaining measurable traction, as recent legal and policy shifts across Kenya, Tanzania, and Zambia begin to translate legislative intentions into tangible projects. Nevertheless, the journey from potential to progress hinges on bolstering technical capacity, ensuring regulatory consistency, and fostering public trust.
Zambia replaced its 2009 PPP Act with the updated Public-Private Partnership Act No. 18 of 2023, which establishes an independent PPP office, encourages participation in small and medium-sized PPPs, and emphasizes capacity development in project negotiation and implementation.
In Tanzania, the recent mainland PPP Amendment Act No. 4 of 2023 and corresponding regulations clarified government funding and guarantee mechanisms and shortened approval timelines. Zanzibar, meanwhile, is exploring investor-friendly models that align PPPs with its national development goals. Kenya, having faced procedural roadblocks under its 2013 Act, introduced the Public-Private Partnerships Act No. 14 of 2021, streamlining procurement, embedding PPP oversight within the National Treasury, and refining the process for privately initiated proposals to enhance developer access.
Tanzania has advanced several high-profile PPP infrastructure efforts, such as the Bus Rapid Transit system in Dar es Salaam, expressway networks, dry ports, and an expanding energy and digital infrastructure ecosystem—spurred by new data protection regulations and rising electricity demand. In Kenya, PPPs are underway in power transmission (with Africa50 and Power Grid Corporation of India spearheading the region’s first independent project) and expand into urban transport hubs and port enhancements in Mombasa and Lamu. Zambia’s PPP momentum is visible in the dual carriageway connecting Lusaka and Ndola, under a long-term concession agreement, as well as road upgrades between Ndola and Mufulira.
Common obstacles include lengthy approval processes, taking up to eight or nine months in Zambia, foreign-exchange volatility, policy ambiguity, and under-resourced public agencies that stall project execution. Countries demanding competitive bidding for unsolicited proposals, even in cases of viable, privately initiated concepts, have deterred potential investors. While Kenya offers reimbursement for development costs under specific conditions, Zambia lacks such safety nets, reducing incentives for early-stage bids. These gaps, paired with limited public transparency, often fuel suspicion of PPP deals as “secretive” and erode investor and civic confidence.
World Bank data underscores that only a minority of African countries have functional PPP units, imperative for steering projects from concept to financial close. Regional platforms and guidelines—especially around disclosure and structured risk-sharing—can help harmonize practices across jurisdictions and enhance both credibility and investor appetite. For instance, Tanzania and Zambia’s revived TAZARA railway project—a Chinese-funded rehabilitation under a PPP model—offers a forward-looking template if it integrates transparency, local capacity development, and shared governance principles.
With an estimated USD 130–170 billion annual infrastructure deficit across Africa, PPPs represent a viable pathway to mobilize private capital and innovation. Yet success depends on coupling strong legal instruments with streamlined procedures, meaningful risk mitigation, and inclusive stakeholder engagement—factors now receiving greater attention across East Africa.
What emerges in Kenya, Tanzania, and Zambia is not just a legal corralling of potential but the early outlines of operational frameworks. If nurtured, these could set the pace for subnational ESG-aligned infrastructure development across the continent.
