Booming Eldoret on fast track to become Kenya's fifth city

Eldoret Municipality has reached the investment attraction phase in its historic journey to be conferred status as Kenya's fifth city.

Eldoret is the gateway to the northern transit corridor and gateway to the East Africa Community with 300 million people.

Eldoret has great potential in agriculture and industry and strong services and manufacturing.

The town is headquarters of the North Rift Economic bloc (Noreb) which comprises Baringo, Elgeyo Marakwet, Nandi, Samburu, Trans Nzoia, Turkana, Uasin Gishu and West Pokot. People from the region carry out several businesses in Eldoret town, promoting its commercial status.

In an interview with the Kenya News Agency, Eldoret Municipality Manager Tito Koiyet said Eldoret is one of the fastest-growing towns in Kenya. The rate is about 5.1 per cent to 5.2 per annum in comparison to the national average of about 3.7 per cent.

Koiyet affirmed that the journey of elevation into city status has accelerated interest from investors in the field of manufacturing, agro-processing, hospitality and logistics.

“Eldoret is a logistics hub, being one of the few towns in Kenya which are privileged to have an international airport, railway line, trunk roads like the A8 road crossing the heart of the town," he said.

Thus, it is in close proximity to the industrialised urban towns in Kenya such as  Nakuru, Kitale, Kisumu and other towns within North Rift, Koiyet said. 

As an agricultural town, Eldoret has earned high ratings from investors  interested in agricultural value addition. They are particularly interested in processing avocado, coffee, macadamia and maize. which is the main crop.

Processing animal feed and other agricultural-related crops are also of considerable interest.

Koiyet especially praised praised the international airport, national referral hospital and educational facilities such as Moi University and the University of Eldoret as key to the attainment of city status.

Having an international airport like Moi is a key infrastructural facility for urban growth. Besides facilitating faster access to the country’s capital Nairobi and other regions, it also provides easy access to regional and international markets for perishable exports such as flowers and other foreign exchange earners.

Eldoret is also an educational hub as it hosts a number of internationally recognised universities. They work jointly in carrying out research and other studies within the municipality and also around the country.

Koiyet said Eldoret is also a hub of medical services with a leading national referral hospital, the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH).

It has enhanced many other opportunities in medical services in Eldoret, making it one of the busiest medical destinations in Kenya.

Patients come for diagnosis and treatment from various parts of the country as well neighbouring countries such as Congo, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan.

“As it embarks on the journey of becoming a city, Eldoret is fully prepared to host all the opportunities that come. The county and the municipality have invested in relevant infrastructure to support the influx of investors.

The city has built roads, drainage, street lights. It is doing non-motorised transportation and improving facilities as well,” Koiyet said.

“The county government has also been talking to various investors who are already investing in hospitals and other social services,” he added.

Koiyet confirmed that negotiations with various investors are ongoing at both the county and the municipal levels as well as at the national level.

The main areas of interest are housing, logistics and warehousing as well as general construction for infrastructural development and other social amenities within the region.

The journey to becoming Eldoret's fifth city received a huge boost from the UK which supported the municipality to develop an Urban Economic Development Plan. It entails detailed study of the opportunities that are available in Eldoret.

A a result, a long list of value chains was identified that any investor could readily select with assured return on investment.

The main areas of focus in the plan are in trade and services, infrastructure development and economic empowerment.

Koiyet said there was a wide range of opportunities identified in the final report prepared by the ad hoc committee on the conferment of Eldoret into a city handed over to the UK High Commissioner Jane Marriott. That was two weeks ago.

"As we speak, we are in what we call the investment attraction phase where a list of projects have been identified," he said.

"The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office of the British High Commission has kindly accepted to do some seed funding for those investors who wish to pick up some of those opportunities,” Koiyetsaid.

In regard to affordable housing, Koiyet said the municipality has sufficient undeveloped land which is serviced and other land which requires redevelopment to accommodate all levels of residents from single bedroom dwelling units to three-and four-bedroom units.

“There is a national effort by the President to ensure every city has sufficient housing for its residents and Eldoret has not been left behind," he said.

"We are working together with the national government and Governor Jonathan Bii is more particular about improving the housing of Eldoret residents. The town has fairly enough space to construct houses suitable for all cadres of people in Kenya, particularly affordable housing,” he said.

The chairperson of the Ad Hoc Committee on conferment of Eldoret to city status, Willy Kenei. He is also chairman of the Uasin Gishu Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI).

“As the ad hoc committee we looked into many criteria provided by the law to ensure that if we become a city, the residents will be able to be served by the services and utilities available," Kenei said.

"We are satisfied the municipality has sufficient infrastructural development to support the city. We have sufficient health care services, educational facilities, airport, crematorium and many others,” Kenei said.

He noted that industrialisation would spur growth in Eldoret and that the government is ready to set up industrial parks and economic zones.

Kenei added that infrastructural development inroads, waste management and power is already developed and that the only thing an investor need do is come with sequipment and set up their manufacturing ventures.

“We have raw materials especially in the agriculture sector, human resource, education institutions in the region and labour are readily available," he said.

"This will be a game changer in city economics and a key opportunity in providing employment to many residents,” Kenei said.

He sid the committee is in the final stages of preparing the report which will be handed over to the county executive who will give it to the County Assembly to be tabled and discussed.

The Assembly willorward the report to the Senate for further discussion and recommendations and finally handed it over to the President for consideration of the conferment of status as a city.

“As stakeholders from this region, we believe most likely at the end of the year Eldoret will become a city. This will attract many investors from outside Eldoret and even internationally to come and set up manufacturing ventures,” he said.

(Edited by V. Graham)