Kisii, Embu and Migori are among the first counties set to benefit from the government’s County Aggregation and Industrial Parks (CAIPs) programme as the government moves to complete and operationalise the facilities.
Deputy President Kithure Kindiki said the three counties are among eight whose industrial parks are now nearing completion.
The others are Meru, Kirinyaga, Busia, Garissa and Wajir.
Kindiki gave the update on Wednesday, August 26, after reviewing the progress of the programme and said the government had started preparations to equip the parks with facilities needed for them to begin operating.
“The Government is accelerating the finalisation of the construction and operationalisation of the first eight County Aggregation and Industrial Parks (CAIPs) as the first step towards creating a newly industrialised economy,” Kindiki said.
He added that the procurement of common-user facilities for the eight parks is already underway.
The facilities are expected to give businesses access to equipment and services they may not be able to afford on their own, especially small and medium-sized businesses involved in processing farm produce.
The government has also mobilised raw materials that will be needed once the parks start operating.
Kindiki said the government is also finalising arrangements to bring in private-sector investors and operators to help run the facilities.
The development comes a few months after President William Ruto announced a Ksh2.4 billion plan to support the construction of common-user facilities in county industrial parks across the country.
Ruto said in May that the money would be included in the 2026/2027 budget, with the programme expected to start in July.
The government says the industrial parks are meant to help counties move away from selling raw materials without processing them.
Under the plan, locally produced goods will be collected, processed and turned into finished or semi-finished products before being taken to the market.
For farmers, the idea is to create a more reliable market for their produce while also allowing them to benefit from value addition.
The parks are also expected to support micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which form a large part of Kenya’s business sector, by giving them access to shared industrial facilities.
Cold storage facilities are also part of the wider plan, with the government looking to link the parks with modern markets and improve the movement of food from farms to consumers.
The government hopes the programme will create jobs, support local businesses and increase the value of agricultural products produced in different parts of the country.
For the eight counties whose parks are nearing completion, the next step will be to install the common-user facilities and bring in private operators before the facilities can fully start serving businesses and producers.