President William Ruto launching the Bumala Modern Market in Busia/PCS
President William Ruto has inspected ongoing construction of the Nasewa Export Processing Zone (EPZ) and Busia County aggregation and industrial park in Matayos, Busia County.
The EPZ project is expected to boost the county and national economy through processing of agricultural produce such as edible oils and cassava.
The zone will also host a motorbike manufacturing plant and textile industries.
The government is banking on the manufacturing hub, which is set for completion by June this year, to create an estimated 5,000 jobs in the first phase. Once fully implemented the project will create 50,000 jobs directly and 250,000 indirectly.
“This hub will employ thousands of people from Busia here,” the president told the residents.
The President said the two projects are poised to transform the surrounding areas.
The Sh500 million aggregation and industrial park, which is also being established at Nasewa in Matayos, will be a hub for industries cutting across various sectors of the economy.
The park, which the president said will be completed by April this year, is expected to stimulate economic growth by focusing on key sectors comprising edible oils, energy, transport and logistics, storage, cold rooms and warehousing facilities.
“Farmers will bring their simsim, groundnuts, sunflower, cotton and other produce for aggregation and storage at this facility,” Ruto said.
The president added that the cold rooms will ensure the produce do not go to waste, while aggregation will enable farmers to benefit from economies of scale.
The hub, Ruto stated, will have common-user facilities that will help in adding value to various agricultural produce.
“Farmers will use the park to store their produce until they
get the right prices and avoid cartels who unfairly benefit from farmers’
sweat,” the president said.
He added that the hub will also help in providing market linkages to farmers, including opportunities in markets outside the country.
The industrial park is expected to employ more than 5,000 locals directly while hundreds of thousands of others will be engaged indirectly.
The government is setting up such industrial parks in all the 47 counties to spur economic growth, enhance livelihoods, and provide jobs for the youths.
The president also launched the rehabilitation of a dam in
Alupe, Teso South, Busia County.
The project targets to meet the water needs of 39,000 people immediately and 92,000 by 2046.
“Many people here need water, and that is why we have embarked on rehabilitating this dam,” the Head of State said.
He noted that the project will serve Alupe University and three wards in Teso South.
The dam, which will take two years to build, will cost Sh750 million, with Sh470 million going for construction while Sh280 million will be spent on last-mile water connectivity.
