US giant Bechtel wants the government of Kenya to borrow the cash needed for the $3bn highway from Mombasa to Nairobi, which Bechtel had been picked to build, and says the toll revenues will nearly double the government’s money in 25 years. That would be far more advantageous for the debt-laden government in the long run than a public-private partnership (PPP), which would mean Bechtel raises the cash itself through financial markets, the company says. But a Kenyan minister said the preferred approach is still PPP, which would keep the capital cost of the game-changing expressway off its books.