NAIROBI, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Kenya is keen to leverage on public-private partnerships (PPP) to bridge its infrastructure funding gap, a senior government official said on Monday.

John Mbadi, cabinet secretary for the national treasury and economic planning, told journalists in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, that the country requires an estimated 560 billion shillings (about 4.33 billion U.S. dollars) annually to develop and maintain infrastructure, but only 1.73 billion dollars is available.

"Through PPPs, we not only access private sector capital, but also benefit from the efficiency, innovation, and risk management capacity inherent in private sector operations," Mbadi said during a PPP symposium.

The day-long event brought together officials from African governments, the private sector, and multilateral financial institutions to accelerate the development and rollout of high-impact, bankable PPP projects.

Mbadi said that by partnering with the private sector, Kenya will continue delivering large-scale infrastructure projects traditionally financed through public debt while freeing up public resources for essential social sectors such as health, education, and water.

Chris Kiptoo, principal secretary for the national treasury and economic planning, said Kenya has established a robust legal and regulatory framework to enable private sector participation in the financing, construction, development, operation, and maintenance of infrastructure across various sectors, through a range of contractual models.

Kiptoo noted that Kenya has developed a strong pipeline of active PPP projects at various stages of development, underscoring its commitment to leveraging private sector efficiency and capital. ■