Lamu will construct Sh1 billion industrial park to boost the county’s capacity of attracting tech and manufacturing industries, thus creating jobs and business opportunities around the Lamu Port area.
The county Governor Issa Timamy said plans were already underway to secure at least 300 acres of land that would go towards creating a special economic zone, where the industrial park would be situated.
The plans to build the industrial park are in line with the Governor’s recent revelation during a tour of the Kililana Port area that his administration plans to host a county investor conference, aimed at attracting private sector players, who would aid in transforming Lamu’s standing from a backwater fishing area into a regional industrial bulwark.
“The county government plans to host the investor conference in November in conformity with the LAPSSET’s plans to host a resort and port city, which would be ideal for creating direct and indirect jobs and businesses that are anchored to the Sh40 billion Lamu Port investment,” Timamy stated.
He added the industrial park also complies with the Lamu County Spatial Plan, launched in 2016, with the aim of transforming Lamu into a regional logistical and industrial hub.
“The funding for the industrial park will be based on a Public-Private Partnership model, in which we will designate a substantial acreage for private investors to set up industries, chief among them Export Processing Zones (EPZs),” he added.
On his part, the county Trade and Tourism Chief Officer Atwaa Salim stated that once set up, the industrial park will have a multiplier effect of creating jobs and opportunities for hundreds of youth in Lamu.
“We also need to contend with the reality that the industrial park will further lead to an influx of people, especially once it ties itself with full operationalization of the Lamu Port,” he stated, adding that the county government will also engage with the national government to be part of the affordable housing programme.
On the other hand, Lamu County Chamber of Commerce Chairman Ikhwan Omar commended the county government for prioritizing the transformation of Lamu into an industrial port city.
The Lamu Port has so far been marketed as a transshipment hub, with Agriculture Minister Peter Munya launching a Livestock Export Zone earlier this year.
Lamu Senator Joseph Githuku on his part stated that he would lobby the national government to allocate special funds towards setting up the industrial park that would aid in transforming Lamu as a prudent financial destination.
“The industrial park would aid in reviving industries such as cotton, cashew nuts and fruits that Lamu produces in plenty yet very little goes towards value addition and processing,” the legislator said.
He further noted that a policy paper is needed to effectively implement the project, in a bid to prevent it from being derailed.
He further called on the Lamu County Assembly to actively debate and engage the county executive on the modalities of the envisaged industrial park in order for the project to have the greatest impact to Lamu’s unemployed youth.