Over eighty percent of the investment parcels available at Phase One of the Konza Technopolis have been taken up by investors for development.
This was revealed during the investors networking breakfast in Nairobi where over 100 investors convened to share insights and get updates on the progress of the project.
The KoTDA team also revealed that in the 2021/2022 financial year, the Authority managed to onboard 26 more investors, ten of whom have already received their land lease agreements.
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Speaking during the event, the Principal Secretary Ministry of ICT, Innovation and Youth Affairs, Mr. Jerome Ochieng’ lauded the team at Konza Technopolis and assured the government’s support for the investors to accelerate their vertical infrastructure and unlock their investment opportunities.
He said: “So far, 80 percent of the parcels have been taken and having invested in such facilities, investors need to be given an update on what is happening. Today we had 90 percent of these investors here to share what their visions are and how we can work together to move ahead.”
While noting that the next move for the Authority is to facilitate the development of vertical infrastructure, PS Ochieng noted that they have taken time to work on the horizontal infrastructure that is key in the development of the city.
“The vertical infrastructure which everyone has been looking to see will spring up faster because everything has been done. It’s a plug and play. In the next one or two years, people will start seeing the buildings we have been looking forward to seeing,” he said.
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The PS added that moving ahead, the city is looking to develop other facilities such as the vaccine centre, research centre and the digital media city to amplify the city’s environment.
Already, contractors for the Kenya Advanced Institute of Technology (KAIST), National Security Centre, Konza Complex Phase II and real estate investors are on site.
During the event, Arch. Dr. Reuben Mutiso, Chairman KoTDA, thanked the government for the support and rallied the investors on board to familiarise themselves with the project in view of fast-tracking their business development.
“The budgetary allocations and funding for the project from the government have continued to support us in a big way. The recent budget allocations for 2022/2023 is a testament of the government’s commitment to the project. Alive to our mission to development of the city, we would like to walk together in this journey,” he said.
Eng. John Tanui, CEO, KoTDA gave a comprehensive update of the projects that are complete as well as those that are ongoing.
He said: “This morning we are very excited to host the investor’s breakfast, we are now beyond the 80 percent in key world class infrastructure. We have also seen key government agencies setting up facilities in our city. We have KETRACO, research labs and the national data centre currently serving several companies. We are looking forward to having more private sectors setting up and more exciting, those who will set up manufacturing which will create jobs for our people.”
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The CEO noted that KoTDA has a global network of opportunities and they would like to link the investors to those opportunities.
He mentioned that some of the opportunities that are available for investment at the Technopolis include Smart Manufacturing, Light Industry Logistics, Smart Agriculture, Property development, ICT & IT enabled services, Product development and innovation, Pharmaceutical services, Education & training institutions, Hotels & Convention Centres, Entertainment, recreation and sports facilities, Business enterprises among others.
Several investors noted that they were looking forward to setting up their businesses in Konza.
Konza Technopolis is a key flagship project of Kenya’s Vision 2030 economic development portfolio that seeks to be a world-class city, powered by a thriving information, communications and technology (ICT) sector, superior reliable infrastructure and business-friendly governance systems by 2030.
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