Sh100 billion projects to spur on economic growth in county

Passengers on a boat en route to Mageta Island in Siaya County. People living on the island have difficulty getting to the mainland during medical emergencies. [Denish Ochieng, Standard]

New projects that could be completed in 2019 are bound to make Kisumu a major commercial hub in the region.

The projects estimated to be worth Sh100 billion have drawn their funding from various national and international agencies.

To begin with, the construction of a Sh70 billion ring road running along Lake Victoria beaches, from Busia to Migori, is going to be of major economic importance to the entire Nyanza.

There is also a Sh13 billion port that is being planned in Kisumu, a Sh15 billion brewery, a Sh1.7 billion oil jetty and a Sh4 billion plan to upgrade the entire Kisumu city’s infrastructure.

According to various statements from the Government, the money to fund these projects is coming from the French Development Agency, the World Bank and various grants from the Exchequer.

Already, feasibility studies and ground mapping work for the ring road and the port have been completed.

During his recent visit to Kisumu, President Uhuru Kenyatta told leaders in the area that the World Bank had agreed to additional funding for the ring road.

Blue economy

The President said that the road was of great significance to Nyanza, since it would open up Lake Victoria to the exploitation of its blue economy resources.

The Sh13 billion port has been earmarked for construction near the Korando peninsular.

According to regional trade experts, a modern port, which has been equipped with new cargo handling machinery, could be a game-changer.

It would go along way into boosting the triangular trade between Kisumu, Jinja and Entebbe in Uganda and Mwanza in Tanzania.

According to deliberations contained in a report prepared during the East African Community (EAC) Heads of State summit in Nairobi, in June, Kisumu has been considered to be a major commercial hub in the future.

The EAC has made it clear that it wants to exploit Lake Victoria as an efficient transport corridor joining the EAC member states, and boosting maritime trade.

Away from the lake, other plans that could propel the status of Kisumu are the establishment of a cargo handling unit at the Kisumu International Airport.

Regional flights

The airport currently serves only as a passenger terminal. The introduction of cargo handling could also attract regional airlines.

According to the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA), plans to develop a cargo unit have been put on hold since 2013.

This because the region’s industries had not been well developed, which led to lack of cargo that could be ferried through the airport.

But now, with the opening of an Export Processing Zone for tea and flowers in Kericho, and special economic zones in Kisumu that have boosted fish and fruit processing, the airport will not be short of cargo.

Another project that has been tipped to tilt Kisumu’s economic fortunes come the new year, is the opening of the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) oil jetty.

It is going to operate from the Korando peninsular.

Delays for the launch of the oil jetty had been attributed to Uganda having slowed its own constriction of a similar jetty in Jinja.

Also a number of court cases against KPC had stagnated the launch of the jetty. But all that is  now water under the bridge, and the ministry of energy expects the jetty to start operations at the beginning of the year.

The jetty according to the ministry, will revolutionise oil transport across Lake Victoria.

During his visit, President Uhuru said the oil jetty, and the newly commissioned 10-inch Sinendet-Kisumu pipeline, would go along way into improving the efficiency in feeding fuel to the markets of Uganda, Rwanda and Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

According to ministry figures, the fuel re-exported to these markets in 2010 stood at 2.4 billion litres.

It rose to 3.5 billion litres in 2016.

“These projects will create hundreds of jobs for the residents of Kisumu and also stimulate the economy around the lake by opening it up for use as a vital maritime transport route between Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania,” said Uhuru.

According to KPC Chairman John Ngumi, the jetty will boost fuel pumped to the Kisumu depot by one billion in the first year and up to three billion by 2028.

Ngumi also revealed that the full tank capacity for the Kisumu depot stood at 39 million litres.

The annual demand for petroleum products in western Kenya is 1.1 billion litres whereas the regional demand stands at 3.3 billion litres.

Brewery plant

Another project whose launch in January is a harbinger of economic boon is the Sh15 billion Kenya Breweries Limited (KBL) plant in Kisumu.

According to KBL, the plant promises up to 100,000 jobs in its value chain.

Up to 30,000 sorghum farmers are being asked to provide the sorghum for brewing the low-end market senator keg.

Farmers are expected to deliver 15,000 tonnes of sorghum to the plant, in the first year of operation.

Also another initiative to propel Nyanza’s fortunes is resolving the troubles bedeviling the sugar industry. The merging of loss-making sugar companies has been suggested as a way to revamp the industry.