Plans to turn Busia into dry port on the cards

What you need to know:

  • A feasibility study of the proposed airport has already been done and land identified, Mr Ojaamong said, adding that it is now awaiting investors.

Plans are under way to transform the regional border county of Busia from a transit point into a dry port, essentially elevating the busy trading base into an international business hub.

County Governor Sospeter Ojaamong has brought together a group of elected leaders and professionals from the region to mobilise resources and attract high profile investments from local, regional and international investors to make Busia the ‘Dubai’ of Africa.

The governor spoke in Nairobi last week at the launch of the Busia international investment conference planned for March.

The event is being organised by the county, the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry as well as the Kenya Investment Authority and the Busia Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The conference seeks to bring together investors to explore identified investment avenues, including construction of an international airport, universities, hospitals and hotels.

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Others are private schools, manufacturing, fish processing, tourism, reclamation of Yala swamp, rice milling and processing, mineral prospecting, agriculture and cement manufacturing.

A feasibility study of the proposed airport has already been done and land identified, Mr Ojaamong said, adding that it is now awaiting investors.

The governor said investors from Turkey, China, France, India and Korea have already confirmed participation.