Kenya has revealed plans to build a “Textile City” in a bid to attract investments and create jobs, Adan Mohammed, Industrialisation Cabinet Secretary said.
The Ministry of Industrialization and Enterprise Development, according to Mohammed, targets investment from no fewer than 100 firms at the Textile City to be located in Athi River.
The Secretary spoke at the Export Processing Zone Authority (EPZA) Complex, as he hosted a group of international garment manufacturing firms numbering about 40, whose combined annual revenue exceeds Sh2 trillion ($25 billion), and are potential investors in the proposed Textile City.
Kenya would expect such firms to exploit opportunities that are abound in yarn spinning and cotton ginning, production of home and textile fabrics, apparel, garment accessories, among others.
Although Kenya surpassed its GDP forecast for 2013 by 0.2 percent, the contribution of the manufacturing sector to GDP dropped last year from 9.5 percent in 2012 to 8.9 percent.
With the need to expand the textile industry now seen as pertinent, Mohammed confirmed that plans have reached an advanced stage on construction of the Textile City.
The Industrialisation Secretary also said the Textile City development is part of Kenya’s larger plan to address industrialization challenges faced by the country in the Athi River EPZA zone and other locations.
Apart from the reviving the manufacturing sector of the economy, Kenya also hopes to create over 200,000 sustainable jobs from the textile industry by December 2016. (VENTURES AFRICA)
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