During a recent assessment visit, officials from Livestock Development and Public Works toured the Kenya Leather Industrial Park in Kenanie, Machakos County, underscoring the project’s pivotal role in revolutionizing Kenya’s leather sector.
The flagship initiative, part of President William Ruto’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), is jointly developed by the Kenya Leather Development Council and the Export Processing Zones Authority. It aims to unlock the full potential of the leather industry and significantly increase national income.
Designed to support 36 tanneries and 18 value-addition factories, the park is expected to process up to 3 million hides and 18 million skins annually. This scale of operation is projected to raise leather earnings from the current KSh. 15 billion to an impressive KSh. 120 billion.
To facilitate rapid investor operations, four ready-to-use ‘plug and play’ warehouses have been established. Additionally, key infrastructure including roads, water supply systems, power substations, and a modern Common Effluent Treatment Plant are either completed or underway. Ongoing efforts continue to improve access roads, power availability, and bulk water supply.
Once fully operational, the Kenya Leather Industrial Park is anticipated to create over 100,000 jobs, a significant increase from the current 17,000, firmly positioning Kenya as a competitive player in the global leather manufacturing and export markets.
