Kenya has won the bid to host the 2024 International Association of Science Parks and Innovation Areas conference in a voting done in Saville, Spain.
The bid was by Konza Technopolis Development Authority and supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).
According to MFA, Nairobi, Kenya got 84 votes ahead of Quebec Canada which garnered 18 votes.
Konza Technopolis Development Authority (KoTDA) CEO John Tanui speaking recently at an investor’s forum said that the International Association of Science Parks and Innovation Areas brings over 300 members from 75 countries across the world with Konza being one of them and Kenya chairs the African continent.
“I also sit on the board of that global organization so we are able to see what is happening across the world in that space and this means we are connected to any other place of science and technology,” said the CEO.
He explained that Konza is a smart city in that it focuses on sustainability by concentrating on aspects such as zero net carbon emissions, energy efficiency and also using ICT as an efficient means of interaction, service delivery and ensuring quality of service and quality of life to the residents of the city.
“We are a city being built from scratch and very few cities in the world are built from scratch which is special in the region and the world at large,” said Tanui.
He explained that phase one of the Konza Technopolis vertical infrastructure is 80 percent complete providing the requisite amenities necessary for investors who have already started construction works for their investments.
Tanui said that the vertical infrastructure incorporates the roads, water, electricity, solid waste system, and all the other amenities for a city and they have constructed them in world class standards to ensure that the infrastructure is futuristic, resilient, sustainable and able to be a model for other developments in the country and regionally.
“We have some of the latest world class infrastructure at Konza. When we talk about roads, we are talking about street scapes where we have additional facilities like cycling lanes, green spaces, allocation for things like internet cables, water pipes, waste water among others,” said Tanui.
By Joseph Ng’ang’a
