Kirinyaga County has allocated Ksh 275 million in the proposed 2023/2024 budget for the development of Sagana Agro-Industrial Park.
Out of this amount, Ksh 250 million is Kirinyaga County’s conditional matching allocation in a 50/50 arrangement with the National Government which will also contribute 250 million as grant.
This allocation is applicable to all the counties for establishment of County Aggregation and Industrial Parks (CAIPS) whose kickoff condition is availability of a minimum of Ksh 500 million.
The other Ksh 25 million is set aside for pre-feasibility studies, NEMA approvals, Sustainable Environmental and Social Assessment (SESA) reports, feasibility, marketing, branding and development of basic infrastructure in the park.
Governor Anne Waiguru says for the County to access the grants, they are further required to allocate at least 100 acres of land designated for the industrial parks.
Counties are also required to identify at least five value chains products, provide proof of marketing of the value chain products and have necessary amenities like water, road network, security and electricity connection.
The Governor said Sagana Industrial Park will be the first climate smart agro industrial city in central region, will promote agro processing and manufacturing and will be source of employment to many of the county residents.
She noted that the county farmers will greatly benefit from value addition of their crops which will lead to better earnings for them.
“The processing factories that will come up at the industrial park will target our local produce such as tomatoes, avocado, macadamia and fish,” said the Governor.
She added that apart from the opportunities created inside, the industrial park will spur economic growth in the surrounding areas as well as improve the county’s economic status.
In preparation for the upcoming industrial park, Waiguru said that her administration has been supporting farmers to increase agricultural production and organizing them to form groups and cooperatives through which they will aggregate their produce for uptake by processors at the park.
The Governor pointed out that some of the cooperatives have already expressed intention to set up their own processing factories at the industrial park, a move that she termed as smart and strategic.
The Sagana County Aggregation and Industrial Park and the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) will be established on a 250-acre land that the county government repossessed from grabbers two years ago.
The land is located in close proximity to the Sagana Railway Station, Sagana River, and the Kenol-Sagana-Marua dual carriage. Its strategic location and availability of natural resources is an additional attraction to investors.
