Governor Waiguru team visits Tatu City for bench-marking as Kirinyaga prepares for the Climate-smart Industrial City
Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru has initiated the process of having the Sagana Industrial City gazetted as a Special Economic Zone (SEZ), which will be an additional incentive to investors. Waiguru says that the industrial park will be the first Climate-smart Agro Industrial City in the Central region.
The governor said that plans to establish the industrial city in Sagana are on a high gear with the county fast-tracking the processes to see the project take off. “Our County Executive and Assembly teams came with me to expand our vision with fantastic progress of Tatu Industrial City. What the mind can conceive, with the right team and support guaranteed by President William Samoei Ruto, we will achieve at Sagana” said governor Waiguru during the visit to Tatu City on Wednesday. She said that it was important to learn from the best so that the county can engage best practices from the initial stages of the project.
Sagana Agro Industrial City will be put up on a 250-acre land in Sagana. The governor said that with the assistance of the President Ruto, funds have been secured for the construction of critical infrastructure including roads while various investors have expressed interest to establish agro-processing industries. “Already we have set aside 20 acres for construction of affordable housing units which the National Government will be putting up.” Said the governor, adding that some of the land has also been set apart for establishment of a sports facility and a golf course.
Tatu City which is a mixed development industrial city is situated around Ruiru in Kiambu County. It hosts projects such as residential houses, schools, warehouses, light aircraft airstrip and processing industries among others.
During the visit, Waiguru and the team that included members of the County Executive Committee (CECM) and Members of the County Assembly (MCAs), met with the top management of the city including Stephen Jennings, the founder and CEO and Peterson Menden Hall, the Executive Vice President.
Sagana Industrial Park is envisioned in Kirinyaga County’s Mountain Cities Blue-Print 2032 that seeks to transform the county by harnessing the diverse resources found in the four of the county’s constituencies. Ndia constituency in which the Industrial city will be put up has been classified as the Industrial City, while Kirinyaga Central which now hosts the largest hospital in the region has been classified as the Wellness City. Gichugu Constituency in which the magnificent Thiba Dam lies has been classified as the Resort City in which the county government is wooing investors to put up hotels and resorts around the scenic Thiba Dam and Mt. Kenya slopes. Mwea on the other hand has been classified as the Agricultural hub of the county where massive production of rice of rice and tomatoes among other crops is taking place. Mwea has one of the largest irrigation schemes in the country and plans to construct more dams to increase land under irrigation are underway.
While the upcoming industrial park is expected to attract many investors from outside the county, the governor said that the locals will majorly benefit from ready market for their agricultural produce and thousands of employment opportunities that will emerge. The county has started collecting data on various crops produced in the county. Some of the targeted produce for agro-processing include tomatoes, avocadoes, milk, macadamia, fish, coffee, and tea among others.
Waiguru said the park will attract many investors given its close proximity to critical infrastructure such as the Kenol-Marua Dual Carriage and the Sagana Railway station. She added that the British government through the Sustainable Urban Economic Development program (SUED) will be supporting the county government in setting up of a 5 megawatts hydro power station to provide affordable electricity in the park.
The Leader of Majority in the County Assembly, Daniel Muriithi, said that assembly was fully behind the Industrial city initiative and will support its implementation.
