Impact of Project Aid on Implementation of Infrastructure: a Case Study of Class “a” Roads in Kenya

Abstract

The study examined the impact of project aid on implementation of infrastructure and focused on a case study of class “A” roads. The general objective was to determine the impact of project aid on implementation of Class “A” roads infrastructure in Kenya. It was guided by resource dependency theory and anchored on quasi-experimental research design and descriptive research design to establish and explain the relationship between project aid (independent) and implementation of class “A” roads infrastructure (dependent) variables. It was based on causality implying that it mainly employed a “cause-effect” approach. Primary and secondary data was collected using quantitative and qualitative data techniques. The study targeted the 10 class “A” roads implemented by KeNHA through development partners’ funds from 2007-2020 selected through purposive sampling. The study targeted 31 staff who were involved in the implementation of the selected 10 class “A” road projects. Information was gathered using questionnaires and interviews with key informants. Some informants also responded to the questions through email due to their physical unavailability for the interview. The quantitative data was analyzed through SPSS version 25 and presented through frequency distribution tables, pie charts and graphs. The study concluded that project aid is critical in the implementation of class “A” roads infrastructure in Kenya. The results revealed that the three variables, that is, project aid conditionalities, amount of funds disbursed and sustainability of the project aid all have statistically significant impact on the implementation of class “A” roads. One of the recommendations of this study was that an intensive feasibility study should be carried out before embarking on implementation of road projects. This will ensure that the government does not pay commitment fees for loans that are not utilized. Viable road projects should be executed faster so that disbursement of funds is also done faster to ensure the benefits of the road projects are realized way before loan repayment begins.