The Mountain Journal
The
County Government of Kirinyaga 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 government 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 chain 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 the central region, will promote agro processing and
manufacturing and will be a 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.
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