SeriesAI Infrastructure Readiness — Q&A Brief 2 of 4
Prepared byNancy W. Mukui, NEMA Lic. 6945
Who regulates AI infrastructure siting in Kenya?
Direct answer
No single body. Decisions pass separately through the ICT Ministry, NEMA, county governments, the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority, and the Water Resources Authority, with no framework coordinating them before major site or investment approvals are granted.
The current mandate map
| Institution | Mandate touching AI infrastructure |
|---|---|
| ICT Ministry | Digital economy strategy; owns the draft AI policy but has no siting authority |
| NEMA | EIA licensing and environmental compliance |
| County governments | Land use, physical planning, building and construction permits |
| EPRA | Power supply agreements, self-generation licensing, tariff structures |
| Water Resources Authority | Abstraction and discharge permits for cooling |
| KEBS | Technical standards — not yet extended to data-centre design |
Each institution runs its own process on its own timeline, so a developer can clear one gate and still stall at another months later — a grid connection confirmed before the EIA reveals a water constraint, for instance. This is the coordination gap the proposed AI Infrastructure Readiness Framework is designed to close: not new powers for any single regulator, but a shared screening matrix that all six apply before, not after, commitments are made.