Kirinyaga County Governor, Anne Waiguru, has said that the upcoming Sagana Industrial City is expected to create about 150,000 jobs once completed.
She spoke on Saturday during the project’s groundbreaking ceremony presided over by President William Ruto.
Waiguru said that the life-changing project is expected to create about 30,000 direct jobs and another 120,000 indirect jobs besides benefitting thousands of farmers who will supply their raw materials for processing and export.
Supportive industries such as banking, logistics, customs, ICT, security, farm inputs, hospitality, fire and disaster management and recreational facilities will also create additional employment avenues.
“As we gather to break the ground for Sagana Industrial City, we lay a foundation for what will soon become a thriving industrial hub and a beacon of a brighter and prosperous future for Kirinyaga.
It is a testament to our commitment towards the realization of shared economic transformation goals that aim at creating new jobs and fostering a climate where businesses can thrive,” Waiguru said.
She thanked the President for granting the county the sole EPZ in the central region. She also requested for the tarmacking of Sagana Town roads as well as a four kilometer road leading to the industrial park, a request which the President granted. He promised to support in the construction of dykes in order to prevent the park from flooding.
President Ruto pledged full support for the successful implementation of the industrial city noting that his government has been undertaking negotiations with US and European markets for export of the produce that will be processed in the industrial park. He said that the project will enable farmers to earn more money from value addition, processing and manufacturing and create many jobs for the youth.
President Ruto who was accompanied by Cabinet Secretaries Hassan Joho for Mining & Blue economy, Salim Mvuria of Investments, Trade and Industries among other senior government officials, said that he will be back to launch some of the industries in the Special Economic Zone and Export Processing Zone for the youth to start working there immediately.
He said that the National Government will plough in Sh500 million which will go towards the development of the Export Processing Zone and another Sh250 million towards the development of a County Aggregation and Industrial Park (CAIP).
The county government has already put in Sh180 million towards the CAIP project.
Governor Waiguru noted that the Industrial Park breathes life into the county’s Mountain Cities 2032 Blue Print that designates Ndia Constituency as the Industrial City of Kirinyaga, terming the project as a magnet that has attracted high value investors.
The governor pointed out that the industrial city that lies on 242 acres of land will enable Kirinyaga to drive its industrialization agenda through agro processing and manufacturing. The city incorporates an Export Processing Zone (EPZ), Special Economic Zone (SEZ), and affordable housing.
She said that a master plan for the entire industrial city has already been developed whereby the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) comprises a County Aggregation and Industrial Park (CAIP), assorted industries, a four-star hotel, and a 9-hole golf course.
“So far, more than 46 investors have shown interest to set up various factories in our industrial city. The development of Phase 1 of the EPZ which will host industries dealing in processing and manufacturing of export goods such as textiles and leather is ongoing.
The SEZ has also been gazetted and currently is awaiting gazettement as a custom controlled zone while the construction of 6 warehouses and 2 cold storage warehouses for the CAIP is ongoing and expected to be complete in two months.
On the other hand, the upcoming CAIP will support local and export industries targeting mainly agricultural produce such as dairy, avocadoes, macadamia, sunflower, integrated fruits and vegetables such as tomato, bananas, sweet potato, tea, coffee, rice and fish.”
To ensure maximum benefit from the industrial city, the county farmers have already been mobilized through value-chain based cooperative societies for ease of aggregation of produce for contract farming, and processing.
The Cabinet Secretary for Investments, Trade and Industry, Salim Mvurya committed to oversee the development of the Industrial Park to ensure successful implementation of the project.
Mvurya said that he will be holding meetings with county farmers to come up with a plan to start delivering their produce for processing.
By David Wandeto
