Homabay County
has entered into a mega partnership with two international
organisations that would see it benefit from Sh595 billion project. The
money is given in form of grant.
The new partnership aims at turning the agriculturally rich and fish
endowed county into an Agri-City with a vibrant mix of businesses,
infrastructure and standard urban amenities.
The project is a
joint venture between Good Earth Power, Urban Green Energy and the
county, and will be rolled out in phases for a period of 30 years. The
UK’s Good Earth Power is the major partner.
According to the
master plan unveiled by the investors, the project will involve
construction of 100, 000 houses, modern road construction and
communication network as well as clean power generation. Other ventures
will involve water purification, sewage treatment, waste management and
construction of modern recreational facilities. After signing the (MoU)
on Thursday, Homa Bay County Governor Cyprian Awiti
said: “This is a major investment that will turn round the economy of
Homa-Bay County. I am telling the doubting Thomases to open their eyes
wide and see what we are going to come up with. It will also go a long
way to show that devolution is a reality in this country,” he added.
Partnership signed
The
partnership was signed at Serena Hotel, Nairobi by the Governor who was
accompanied by his Cabinet and the Good Erath Power Chief Technical
Officer Martin Gillard.
Mr Gillard said they have had similar
projects in South Africa and announced that they would roll out the new
project in the next few months. Homa Bay County now becomes the second county after Machakos to sign such a multi-billion MoU with investors.
Last month, Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua
signed investment MoU worth over Sh56 billion. The Homa Bay project, if
well implemented is likely to transform the fortunes of the locals
considering that the amount involved is almost half of the total
country’s budget. This year’s budget according to budgetary estimates
tabled by Treasury is Sh1.6 trillion.
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