Mai Mahiu dry port to create 100,000 job opportunities

Trade CS Lee Kinyanjui during a tour of the Mai Mahiu Special Economic Zone, where 19 investors are already on the ground. [Antony Gitonga, Standard]

The Mai Mahiu dry port in Naivasha will employ more than 100,000 people directly and indirectly once complete with local youths expected to be the biggest beneficiaries.

The dry port has attracted investments worth billions of shillings that are expected to change the fortunes of locals.

The government has already connected the port to the railway linkage to ensure seamless transportation of cargo from the port of Mombasa destined to the hinterland and neighboring countries.

Trade and Investment Cabinet Secretary Lee Kinyanjui said the government expansion plans would transform the port and surrounding towns into commercial and business hubs, attracting local and international tourists.

Kinyanjui exuded confidence that this would, in turn, create thousands of job opportunities, especially for youths.

Already, the CS said the railway expansion plans from Naivasha to the Malaba border to Uganda would see neighbouring countries set up shop in the area to ease cargo haulage while boosting intra-regional trade.

Speaking in Mai Mahiu during a meeting with the local community, Kinyanjui urged them to seize the opportunities being created within the port and Special Economic Zone.

"The government is seeking investors in the value addition sectors and the facility will benefit locals in the livestock value chain to accrue better prices for their investments," he said.

The CS said plans to construct the Rironi-Mau Summit dual carriage would ease the movement of people and cargo in the region, with property along the route expected to gain value and boost revenue.

He committed to address the Maasai community's land injustices, with disputes dragging on for years, locking out locals from accruing benefits from their property.

Kinyanjui, the former Nakuru Governor called on all communities to shun ethnic politics and divisions, saying that the country's interests must precede individual aspirations.

Former Senator Ole Mositet urged the government to expedite the historical land injustices affecting the Maasai community.

Mositet demanded the employment of locals within the Naivasha dry port, Special Economic Zone and the KenGen geothermal expansion projects.