Kenya has been challenged to speed up and clear pending title deed issues for land issued to EAC countries athe Naivasha economic zone to pave way for development.
This is in a renewed push to make use of the parcels of land allocated to Uganda, South Sudan, Rwanda and Burundi, to develop logistics hubs to boost the use of the Standard Gauge Railway and the Naivasha Inland Container Depot, served by the Port of Mombasa.
Uganda was in 2019 offered land to build a logistics facility at Naivasha, which would be used to handle its imports and exports, with the country being the biggest transit destination for cargoes coming through Mombasa.
In December 2020, Kenya allocated 10 acres of land to South Sudan to build an inland container depot at the Naivasha Industrial Park, which was followed by the allocation of 9.8 acres to Rwanda with Burundi also being brought on board.
This was part of the country’s initiative to enhance trade along the Northern Corridor, the main transport route serving the neighbouring landlocked countries.
The 1,700-kilometre-long Northern Corridor runs between Mombasa (Kenya), Uganda Rwanda, Burundi and Eastern DRC.It is complemented by the 1,300 kilometre-long Central Corridor which serves Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and Eastern DRC, with an exit and entry point at the port of Dar-es-Salaam, a route that has in recent years given competition to the Port of Mombasa.
The Northern Corridor Transit and Transport Coordination Authority (NCTTCA) tasked with coordinating logistics activities along the corridor with representatives from all the member states, on Thursday called on the Kenyan government to also implement the promised incentives and waivers to alow development activities on the parcels of land.
NCTTCA Executive Secretary, John Deng, said this will pave way for feasibility studies and investments on the properties which have since remained undeveloped over the years.
The neighbouring countries are expected to put up Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and logistic hubs including warehouses for handling their respective cargoes.
“We request the National Treasury, as well as the Ministry of Lands in Kenya, to hand hold our member States, offer the required incentives and waivers, as well as define the limits of the land parcels granted, for ease of identification and development,” Deng said during a regional forum in Nairobi, yesterday.
Some of the incentives Kenya is expected to extend include full exemption on Value Added Tax, excise duty, import duty and Import Declaration Fee for SEZ development.
Local supplies for the projects are also meant to be zero rates with investors also getting preferential rates on corporate tax, which includes 10 per cent for the first 10 years, 15 per cent for the following 10 years and there after 30 per cent for the subsequent years. Investors are also entitled to preferential withholding tax, exemption on stamp duty and 100 per cent allowance on capital expenditure on buildings and machinery.
The land given to the neighbouring countries is also expected to act as consolidation bases to promote exports through the Port of Mombasa, as part of increasing the use of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) freight services and the Naivasha Inland Container Depot. Transport PS Mohamed Daghar has since affirmed Kenya’s commitment to facilitate the respective countries and other private investors.
“We are at an advanced stages
working with the respective governments to ensure that all titles
are issued as per the directive that
was issued by the President,” Daghar
said.
