County eyes State agencies' prime beach front property

The county government has reopened negotiations with two parastatals over prime land bordering Lake Victoria.

The county wants to use part of the over 300 acres owned by Kenya Railways (KR) and Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) to reorganise the town's beach fronts to boost its tourism potential.

Kisumu City Manager Doris Ombara told The Standard the talks were also in line with national government's plan to revive Lake Victoria’s blue economy at a cost of Sh15 billion.

The money will be used in dredging and removing water hyacinth from the lake, modernisation of Kisumu port, restoration of the old railway line from Nakuru to Kisumu and construction of a ship assembly yard near the port.

Maximise potential

“We want KR and KPA, which jointly own the 300 acres currently in disuse or underused, to lease them to us on long-term or cede the land so that we can use the prime land to establish facilities that conform with our plan to maximise potential,” she said.

The parties met in Nairobi a week ago. Also in the talks were Kenya Pipeline Company, Kenya Airports Authority and the Maritime Authority, which also own land there.

KR, one of the biggest landlords in Kisumu, owns over 200 acres of lakefront land. KPA, which took over management of the port from KR in 2017, owns 100 acres in the same area.

If the talks are successful, a huge chunk of land, stretching from the port to Kisat beach near Nyanza Golf Club, will be turned into a promenade with hotels and a reclaimed beach bustling with water sports.