Director Admin-ICT Wesley Maritim, Konza Technopolis Development Authority acting director John Okwiri, Chairman Prof Raphael Munavu and KoTDA director Charles Kilonzo during the launch of the Environmental, Social and Governance report. [Edward Kiplimo, Standard]

Phase one of the Konza Technopolis which is expected to become Kenya's first smart city is nearing completion. This is according to Konza Technopolis Development Authority (KoTDA), the agency mandated to implement the project.

The agency said this during the launch of its inaugural annual environmental, social and governance (ESG) report in Nairobi, yesterday. The report highlights the progress of key projects in the smart city with their sustainability aspects at a time when private investors and government entities are setting up business operations at Phase One, which is 88 per cent done.

On the key project updates, the smart city facilities development is now at 55 per cent while the Konza conference facility is at 59 per cent completion. The new investors have now taken up over 80 per cent of the space.

The Kenya Advanced Institute of Science and Technology's core buildings, administration buildings, laboratories and accommodation are at 17.58 per cent completion.

"As a smart city, we embed sustainability in our key projects. The launch of this report shows our commitment to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and our investors will be able to benefit from this report," said KoTDA acting CEO John Okwiri during the launch.

"In today's session with investors and partners, we took time to provide key highlights that we have made in the financial year and highlighted some upcoming projects in the new financial year." The inaugural ESG report also showcases KoTDA's commitment to sustainable development from the lenses of economic, social and environmental conservation and preservation. In particular, the authority is keen to contribute to the national greening ambition and has already established a tree nursery with 600,000 seedlings scalable to 10 million trees.

Additionally, the city seeks to locate smart agricultural farms to promote urban farming technologies for food security and to enable wildlife preservation at technopolis's 1000-acre wildlife corridor.

During the event, the authority signed pacts with Unesco and the Africa Centre of Technologies and Studies to strengthen digital entrepreneurship development and develop skills, and talent in the digital economy as well as commercialise innovations.