After a 14-year hiatus, the construction of the Sh 8.5 billion Ronald Ngala Utalii College is rapidly taking shape in Vipingo.
The project has been marred by allegations of corruption and impropriety that stalled it for years.
The Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary, Rebecca Miano, gave an extensive tour of the magnificent project located on 59 acres of land near the Indian Ocean.
She says the institution will be a centre of excellence for the hospitality sector in line with Vision 2030.
The college will be a shot in the arm of the Blue Economy and Cruise Tourism, as it will offer specialised training, thus enhancing skill development and capacity building.
“A lot of work has been done; so far the project is about 83 per cent complete,” said CS Miano, who was accompanied by the board members of the Tourism Fund.
The CS had a meeting with the board on the operationalisation plan and schedule of opening.
“We hope by the end of the first quarter of next year we will be able to operationalise and open this school. The first cohort of students will be admitted in April 2025; when fully operationalised, it will train up to 3000 students per cohort,” said the Tourism CS.
“We want it to have all the specialisation, and we look forward to fulfilling the market in the region and even internationally for the people we need in the hospitality sector,” she added.
The CS lauded the Tourism Trust Fund Trustees for working around the clock to ensure the project progresses as scheduled.
She challenged the Trustees to double their efforts to deliver the projects to Kenyans. The college will place Kenya on the map.
Training halls, modern kitchens, hostels, demo centres, and staff quarters are in the final touches.
The CS cited the unavailability of resources as one of the major challenges that derailed the completion of the project, but the board has come up with an elaborate plan for completion.
She noted that the board has assured her that they will start to receive applications and training to commence in April.
Phase two of the project will entail the construction of a seven-star hotel, which will act as a laboratory and training centre for the college. The hotel will be constructed on an 18-acre land adjacent to the college.
“That will be a value addition to phase one, a seven-star. The board is working on various models on how to construct the seven stars because of the availability of resources; we need to look at various possibilities through partnerships and other models,” stated the CS.
By Sadik Hassan
