President Uhuru Kenyatta addresses delegates during the Chinese-Kenya
Business Forum at Crown Plaza Hotel in Beijing, China, on April 26,
2019. PHOTO | PSCU
Kenya and China on Friday signed project delivery agreements
worth Sh226 billion for the Konza Data Centre and Smart Cities Project
by telecommunications giant Huawei and the JKIA-James Gichuru
expressway.
President Uhuru Kenyatta, who is in China
for the second Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) forum, witnessed the
signing of the deals that will be fulfilled through concessional
financing and Public Private-Partnership (PPP).
The
Konza project deal is worth Sh175 billion while the expressway project,
by the China Road and Bridge Corporation, is worth Sh51 billion.
Also
signed was the operation and maintenance service agreement for the
Nairobi-Naivasha segment of the standard gauge railway (SGR).
KONZA CITY
The
Konza project, conceived in 2017 by the ICT ministry and Huawei,
entails the development of core infrastructure including a National
Cloud Data Centre, a Smart ICT Network, a Public Safe City and Smart
Traffic Solution, and a Government Cloud and Enterprise Service.
It is part of the Konza Techno City, a Vision
2030 flagship project started in 2008 and aimed at developing
technology-intensive and high-tech industries in ICT, biotechnology and
e-commerce.
It is estimated that
Phase I of the project is estimated will create over 17,000 jobs and
contribute Sh90 billion to the Kenyan economy.
The
construction of the expressway is expected to ease traffic flow on the
busy Mombasa highway as part of government interventions to decongest
key roads in Nairobi.
It will be the
first of its kind in Africa, with features such as underpasses,
overpasses, exits and the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) component covering the
entire stretch.
PROSPERITY POTENTIAL
Earlier,
President Kenyatta attended the opening ceremony of the BRI forum at
the China National Convention Centre in central Beijing, where he
addressed a high-level session attended by his host, President Xi
Jinping.
He thanked China for
projects which he said were expanding economic activities and unlocking
the potential for prosperity in Kenya and other developing countries.
“Since
inception, the Belt and Road Initiative has forged cooperation in the
development of critical sectors including expansion of infrastructure,
education and capacity building, trade facilitation and investment,
agricultural modernisation, industrial promotion and energy
connectivity," he said.
"Collectively, these developments are expanding economic activities and unlocking potential for prosperity."
EA TRANSFORMATION
The
President said Kenya was proud to be a founding and active member of
the BRI and that it shares a common vision with China - the development
and transformation of the country and the East Africa region.
“We
are a gateway to the African segment of the Golden Belt of the BRI that
stretches from the port of Mombasa to Kisumu, on Lake Victoria and the
East African hinterland, to the port of Kinshasa," he said.
"In addition is the Lapsset corridor that connects the Great North Corridor to northern Africa."
While
noting that Kenya was proactively playing its role in the delivery of
the BRI, through Mombasa port's modernisation and construction of the
SGR, he asked other countries to do the same.
Mr
Kenyatta further said that to reap the full benefits of the BRI, focus
should be on synergy in infrastructure and industrial development and
more participation by the private sector.
He welcomed China's commitment to more imports, saying Kenya would ensure both nations benefited.
INVESTORS
At
a different function, President Kenyatta invited Chinese investors to
partner with the government and local entrepreneurs in setting up
businesses in Special Economic Zones (EPZ) being developed in parts
including Dongo Kundu in Mombasa, Lamu, Kisumu and Naivasha.
He
said the government is backing up infrastructure development with a
range of policy reforms aimed at creating an enabling environment for
trade and investment to thrive.
“My
government has adopted a comprehensive investment policy to guide
procedures and processes, both at national and county levels," he said,
while opening the Kenya-China Business Forum organised by the Kenya
Investment Authority (KenInvest) and the China Africa Development Fund.
"We
have also established a one-stop centre to facilitate ease of doing
business and automated service delivery through innovative platforms
such as Huduma Namba, E-Citizen, E-Regulations, iTax, Single Window
Electronic Clearing System and the Land Registry."
The
President noted that as a result of robust economic planning, fiscal
reforms and good governance, the 2018 growth rate of the Kenyan economy
was the highest in nine years.
“Our
Economic Survey released only yesterday (Thursday) indicates that
(economic) growth remains resilient and broad-based, accelerating from
4.9 in 2017 to 6.3 percent in 2018, well above government and IMF
estimates,” he said.
President
Kenyatta is on a three-day working tour with government officials
including Cabinet Secretaries Monica Juma (Foreign Affairs), Peter Munya
(Trade) and James Macharia (Infrastructure).
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