Kirinyaga to transform sub-counties into mini cities

Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru and President Uhuru Kenyatta look at a model of the Thiba Dam. The county is planning housing projects around the dam.

What you need to know:

  • Other projects include industrial parks in Sagana, housing projects around the proposed Sh19 billion Thiba Dam, wellness centres in Kerugoya and green hubs in Mwea.
  • Also in the pipeline is a Sh12 billion Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) centre in Wang’uru village in Mwea.
  • Upon completion, the centre will host seven key structural components, notably a modern research centre, a teaching and referral hospital and a graduate school for health disciplines.

Kirinyaga County plans to revolutionise its property sector by transforming Kirinyaga Central, Mwea, Ndia and Gichugu into mini cities.

The plans are contained in a sessional paper detailing the strategies for upgrading the county, based on each sub-county’s economic strengths.

For instance, a resort centre is planned in Gichugu to make it a tourist attraction.

Other projects in the blueprint launched by Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru late last year include industrial parks in Sagana, housing projects around the proposed Sh19 billion Thiba Dam, wellness centres in Kerugoya and green hubs in Mwea.

Also in the pipeline is a Sh12 billion Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) centre in Wang’uru village in Mwea.

Upon completion, the centre will host seven key structural components, notably a modern research centre, a teaching and referral hospital and a graduate school for health disciplines. It is projected to be fully functional by 2024.

While launching the document, Ms Waiguru said her administration’s aim was to make Kirinyaga the first choice for tourists and investors and to boost business in the area.

She added that the projects would be implemented in partnership with the central government, donors and the private sector. The proposed projects have caused a great deal of excitement.

“We are currently studying all the points earmarked to host the cited development projects. There is a promise of many buildings coming up, land being sought to host the projects and opportunities in the housing sector. We are seriously looking into these projects,” said Mt Kenya Region Real Estate Agency Chair Lilian Maina, during a stakeholders meeting on January 12.

She said any property dealer in the region with an eye for business had a copy of the of the sessional paper known as “Mountain Cities Blueprint”, which contains the county’s development plans for the next 15 years.

Ms Maina estimated that, following the launch of the blueprint, the value of property had risen by 15 per cent on average, adding that the sector has been erratic in the past, with no definite price index.

“It is a county where most properties have no title deeds and most of the land is trust land. But this blueprint has given rise to optimism that land in the county is headed for stabilisation and will get a definite price index,” she said.

However, the influx of property brokers into the county seeking to cash in on the planned developments has come with challenges. Already, Deputy Governor Peter Ndambiri has warned investors that there is no trust land up for sale in the area.

He said the situation was so serious in Kirinyaga that it was safe to assume that there are no legal land buying and selling companies operating in the area.

“We have not registered any group to buy and sell land in ranching arrangements. We have been going round the county warning people not to get entrapped in this fraud. We will not be liable for any ramifications if one ignores our warning and gets conned,” he cautioned.