The ceded 672 acres of land by the multinational fruit processor Delmonte Kenya Limited to the county government of Kiambu will play a big role in the boosting of the mega affordable housing plan and the extension of the proposed Thika industrial Smart city by Kiambu governor Kiimani Wamatangi.
Speaking while on an extensive tour of the land at Gatuanyaga in Thika East, Wamatangi who was accompanied by Delmonte’s Director for Agriculture Gorge Miranda said that the land could be used to establish part of the 50,000 affordable housing units in collaboration with the National government. This will include building of schools, hospitals, sports facilities and other essential amenities in a bid to de-congest and transform Thika into city status. This he said the concept was based on the need for new neighborhoods to de-congest Thika town and Nairobi and expand it’s boundaries.
Thika is currently the bedroom for Nairobi with most people working in Nairobi commuting daily to and fro.
Wamatangi hinted that such facilities like Thika prison, Thika stadium, cemetery and others had no business being in the CBD saying they will require to be relocated to the new site to give space for commercial development.
“We have to be realistic and candid enough to say for the growth of the town, these special amenities need not be in the CBD in the first place.’ said Wamatangi.
He said once the county government gets in touch with the legal documents of the ceded land, we won’t be surprised to see storey buildings cropping up in the next two months.
However, he said the county government will hold forums for public participation exercise to give the surrounding communities opportunity to express their views on how they want the land to be used.
Wamatangi also faulted those who were in the negotiating table before him saying the land was divided into four pieces in different locations adding that it could have been better and more useful if the land was one parcel and near Thika town. This he said could have helped the county with proper planing in infrastructure development.
Delmonte company limited own over 22,000 acres of land in Kiambu and Muranga with 7000 acres lying idle and underutilized. This has attracted the interests of the two counties who had opposed the renewal of the company’s lease agreement after it expired. This forced the company to surrender the 672 acres of land in Thika East where the county government of Kiambu in return agreed to renew lease for 8,000 acres for another 99 years.