More than 18 investors have been shortlisted to set up factories at the Sagana Industrial Park in Kirinyaga.
Governor Anne Waiguru said the prospective investors have been selected from a list of 54 who had shown interest in putting up agro-processing and manufacturing factories at the park.
Waiguru said the very high-value investors will set up industries dealing in the processing and manufacturing of goods for export, especially agricultural, leather and textiles.
Speaking when she hosted Cabinet Secretary for Investment, Trade and Industry Trade Lee Kinyanjui during an inspection tour of the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) and Special Economic Zone (SEZ) projects at the park, the Governor said the county will be advertising for lease of land and warehouses at the park.
“The development of Phase 1 of the EPZ is underway and these prospective investors are now part of our shared vision for an industrialised county that will lead in agro-processing and manufacturing,” she said.
The Governor said the SEZ has been gazetted and is awaiting another gazettement as a custom controlled zone.
“The zone comprises County Aggregation and Industrial Park (CAIP), assorted industries, a four-star hotel, and a 9-hole golf course,” the Governor added.
The Sagana Industrial Park lies on 242 acres of land and incorporates an affordable housing project.
Waiguru said construction of 6 warehouses and 2 cold storage warehouses is at 60% completion and expected to be complete at the end of March this year.
The CAIP contract amount is Ksh. 499.9million and is being co-shared between national and county Government.
“So far, the county has paid Ksh.184 million, while the national government has sent Ksh.133million.
She said the industrial park is a transformational project that will directly employ more than 10,000 besides benefitting thousands of farmers who will supply raw materials for processing and export.
Supportive industries such as banking, logistics, customs, ICT, security, farm inputs, hospitality, security, fire and disaster management, and recreational facilities are also expected to set up at the facility.
“The park gives life to our county’s Mountain Cities 2032 Blue Print that designates Ndia Constituency as the Industrial City of Kirinyaga. We reaffirm our commitment to intergovernmental collaboration for the successful implementation of this project,” Waiguru said.
To fully optimize the Sagana Industrial City, Waiguru asked the national government to fast-track the tarmacking of NCPB – Karima road, the main access road to the industrial park, setting up of a power substation, construction of a water and sewer system for the entire Sagana town.
On his part, CS Kinyanjui expressed satisfaction with the progress made towards completion of the project but asked contractor of the EPZ project to speed up work so as to meet the May deadline for the launch.
“We are here to assess the progress of the development of Sagana Industrial Park, we are impressed with the work Governor Waiguru is doing here,” he said.
The CS said rural counties like Kirinyaga are the next frontier for investment adding that the park will help the country to produce more and reduce dependence on food from outside.
Kinyanjui asked the local community to support the government as it implement development projects instead lamenting.
“Too much fighting cannot produce anything. Kirinyaga among any other counties that are doing the CAIPS will provide the momentum because sometimes when a vision is crafted, not everyone is able to see the vision. But the few who are able to see it now are the first ones to benefit,” he said.
The CS said Kenya has signed several trade agreements with foreign countries like US, China, United Arab Emirates and has only been able to satisfy 20 percent of the market.
