The national government will spend Sh1.4 billion to compensate 1,684 families in Likoni that were displaced to fast-track the construction of the Sh39 billion Dongo Kundu Special Economic Zone (SEZ).
The compensation clears the way for the project expected to make Mombasa a regional logistics and manufacturing hub.
Investment, Trade and Industry Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria said the government targets to operationalise the Dongo Kundu SEZ by July.
Compensation and resettlement of persons affected by the ongoing project are set to commence this week.
The subdivision of 384 acres of land acquired for the affected families will be undertaken and title deeds issued by end of March after the government released the funds to the National Lands Commission (NLC).
The centre will comprise industrial parks, free trade zones, as well as other auxiliary services such as meetings, conferencing and exhibitions. It will also have zoned residential areas for workers.
The coordinating committee of the Mombasa SEZ convened a meeting on January 16 at the Kenya Ports Authority that was chaired by Mr Kuria, alongside Governor Abdulswamad Nassir and Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) acting Managing Director John Mwangemi.
Also in attendance were newly appointed KPA board chairman Benjamin Tayari, Energy Principal Secretary Alex Wachira and his Investments Promotion counterpart Abubakar Hassan.
Attracting investments
During the meeting, the team agreed on several actions, including attracting investments to the SEZ.
“So that you can measure the demand for space that investors want, we have agreed to advertise for expression of interest in the local and international media to attract investors in the 13 sectors,” said Mr Kuria.
The 13 sectors include agro-processing, oil and gas (upstream and downstream), petrochemicals, Green energy and renewables, Blue economy, water desalination and Service provision.
Others are heavy metals and steel, textile and apparel, pharmaceuticals, automotive manufacturing and assembly, freight logistics services, warehousing, cargo bulk-breaking and consolidation services and business support services.
“The responsibility of this lies in the State Department of Investment and Promotion together with the Special Economic Zones Authority,” said Mr Kuria.
The state will also amalgamate four Dongo Kundu title deeds and subdivide the land for port development, special economic zone development and resettlement of the project-affected persons (PaPs).
Land availed
On the resettlement and compensation of the project-affected persons, the CS said the state will avail land for the residents.
“The money is already released, for the project-affected persons, the funds are with NLC… We will complete this exercise by March 31,” said Mr Kuria. President William Ruto is expected soon in Mombasa to issue title deeds to the affected persons.
The CS added: “We will work with Kenya National Highways Authority and Kenya Rural Roads Authority to construct access roads to gravel standards. On the issue of power, the 33kV line is available for any investor. We expect investors will also tap into green energy.”
He said Dongu Kundu SEZ will be fully operational by July 1.
“Other projects will continue all the way to 2025 but that will not stop investors from moving in and we expect by July it will be a hive of activity,” said the CS.
Governor Nassir pledged to support the national government to carry out the survey and provide water.
The compensation plan comes after the African Centre for Corrective and Preventive Action filed a case at the Mombasa High Court seeking to halt the project due to environmental concerns. It claims that the project will result in the production of industrial waste that is likely to be deposited into the ocean. BY DAILY NATION