Ministry in talks with firms planning to pump Sh36bn
What you need to know:
- Last year, representatives of Jiangsu Lianfa Textile Company of China were in the country and held meetings with Cabinet secretaries for Energy and Industrialisation.
- They discussed, among others, the possibility of the government providing about 50,000 hectares of land where the company could grow cotton and a further 170,000 square metres to construct a textile factory.
- Sources privy to the negotiations said that the Chinese investors were keen on setting base in Rift Valley, particularly at Menengai, where there is availability of geothermal steam that could provide a cheap source of energy for the factory.
The government is in talks with a group of foreign investors planning to set up a multi-billion textile industry in Kenya.
Industrialisation Cabinet secretary Adan Mohamed on Friday said that the investors were planning to pump in about $400 million (Sh36 billion) in the venture that is expected to create about 40,000 jobs.
However, the minister declined to disclose the identity of the investors.
“If we seal the textile projects deal, at least 40,000 jobs will be created for our youth. As a government, we are keen on it because we know potential for job creation within the textile and apparel industry,” Mr Mohammed noted.
Last year, representatives of Jiangsu Lianfa Textile Company of China were in the country and held meetings with Cabinet secretaries for Energy and Industrialisation.
They discussed, among others, the possibility of the government providing about 50,000 hectares of land where the company could grow cotton and a further 170,000 square metres to construct a textile factory.
In return, the company had said that it would employ about 30,000 people within the first two years of business, if a deal was sealed.
BASE IN RIFT VALLEY
Sources privy to the negotiations said that the Chinese investors were keen on setting base in Rift Valley, particularly at Menengai, where there is availability of geothermal steam that could provide a cheap source of energy for the factory. However, it was not clear whether Mr Mohamed was talking about the same investors.
The minister said that the government had given investors in the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) a 50 per cent electricity subsidy to encourage them to expand and employ more workers.
“In the next 12 months, the government targets to double the workforce in the EPZ firms from 20,000 to 40,000 as part of efforts to address unemployment,” he said.
After visiting Apparel EPZ firm at Changamwe, on Thursday, Mr Mohamed warned that frequent workers’ strikes in the textile firms could scare away investors.
He called on the workers to find other channels of airing their grievances rather than downing their tools, a matter which had affected production.
“We are facing stiff competition from other countries including Cambodia and Ethiopia who are also eyeing for the textile investors,” he said.
