Young people in Mombasa and the wider Coast region are expected to benefit from new employment and entrepreneurship opportunities as the government moves to fast-track the development of the Mombasa Special Economic Zone (SEZ).
President William Ruto has ordered the Sh12 billion project to be completed within six months, saying it will help transform Mombasa into a major manufacturing, logistics and export hub.
The 535-acre zone in Jomvu is expected to accommodate manufacturing, warehousing, processing, assembly and export-oriented businesses.
About 67 companies are expected to establish operations in the zone, with the wider project projected to generate thousands of direct and indirect jobs.
Ruto said young people should be at the centre of the industrial transformation by taking up opportunities in engineering, technical work, logistics, manufacturing and entrepreneurship.
“Our young people must not stand outside the gates of industrial transformation. They must design it, build it, operate it, and prosper from it,” Ruto said.
The President has also directed that a one-kilometre access road linking the zone to the main Mombasa trunk road be completed within 120 days.
The government has further pledged a preferential electricity tariff of Sh10 per kilowatt-hour for investors in Special Economic Zones to help lower production costs.
Ruto said Mombasa is strategically positioned to become an industrial and logistics centre due to its location along the Indian Ocean, the Port of Mombasa and its connection to the Northern Corridor.
The zone is also expected to give businesses access to markets in Kenya, the East African Community, COMESA and the wider African market through the African Continental Free Trade Area.
The President said the project will also create opportunities for farmers, transporters, contractors and small and medium-sized enterprises.
He said the government wants to increase local processing and manufacturing instead of exporting raw materials and importing expensive finished products.
Ruto has urged all parties involved to move quickly from signing agreements to actual implementation so that the project can begin delivering jobs, investment and economic opportunities to the people of the Coast.
