East African Business Week (Kampala)
Samuel Otieno
28 June 2008
Kisumu — The Kenya Railways Corporation yesterday unveiled an ambitious Kshs20billion (US$ 312million) investment plan that will see the city of Kisumu transformed to a top tourist destination and one of the best regional towns in eastern Africa.
The over Kshs20 billion investment plan set for ground breaking earlier next year will involve construction of world class one five star hotel, three 3-tar hotels, a floating restaurant, besides construction of boulevards, jetties along Lake Victoria and improve water use not only for fishing but a home of water sporting activities.
Speaking in Kisumu, in western Kenya last week at a meeting with a group of local investors, the Kenya Railways managing director Nduva Muli disclosed that the investment plan was part of the wider scheme to develop the city of Kisumu as a leading transport, communication, and commercial hub in the Great Lakes Region offering great tourism and agro-investment opportunities.
The project comes at a crucial time when the city is smarting from vagaries of the post election violence and is tipped to be the magic bullet for its resuscitation.
According to Muli, the proposed development will be located on 20 acres of Kenya Railways land on the shores of Lake Victoria, next to the port of Kisumu.
"As the closest municipality to the Millennium Village Cluster, the integrated rural development project of the Earth Institute, the World Agro forestry Centre (ICRAF), and its strategic location regionally, Kisumu is the logical manufacturing, processing and marketing centre for the increased and diversified agro-production expected to ensue from the Millennium Villages over the coming months," said Muli.
The Project will involve the development of a 5- Star hotel, 3-star hotels, and an ultra modern train station, an office park comprising 10 commercial buildings, an entertainment area, and a shopping mall for general merchandise.
The hotels will be served by a modern elevated railway train service connecting to Kisumu Airport and other parts of Kisumu.
The rail chief presented these plans at a meeting in Kisumu attended by the city's mayor Sam Okello, and chief executive officers from Kenya Investment Authority, Kenya Tourist Board, Kenya Ports Authority, Kenya Airways, Kenya Ports Authority, Lake Victoria Management Programme, Lake Basin Authority and area leaders among other stakeholders.
The mayor thanked Kenya Railways for the intervention to help Kisumu restore its image internationally saying that the project will help boost the use of the expanded airport whose construction is underway.
The project is expected to boost tourism in the western circuit and provide an alternative to Maasai Mara and Mombasa as the two main destinations in the country.
Kenya has long been the leading international tourist destination in East Africa.
"This does not, however, seem to have helped Kisumu. Tourists go to Mombasa for the beaches and to Masai Mara for wildlife," Muli said.
"Although Kisumu is somewhat closer to the Masai Mara than Nairobi, the roads are in a bad state, especially when it rains. The chief local attraction, Lake Victoria, is less of a draw than it might be because of pollution and water hyacinth," Muli added.
The government has prioritised the western circuit in its current national development strategy and the Lake Basin Development Authority is working on a plan for the western circuit that will market eco-tourism to foreign tourists.
UN Habitat is also developing a plan involving the creation of a tourist information office and the inclusion of Kisumu in the Kenyan tourist circuit. The city has several tourist sites close by.
These are Ruma National Park to the south, Ndere Island to the north and Kakamega forest to the east.
"These are all relatively small sites but are more abundant in birds and the big five: lions, leopards, elephants, rhinos and buffaloes.
The majority of current tourists are business people from other parts of Kenya, employees of international bodies and NGOs, and people with family links in or around Kisumu.
The project will involve Equity Partners to invest jointly with the Kenya Railways on a long term lease over the Railways land in order for them to fund the development of the four major proposed projects and rent them out to the market over the BOT (build operate and Transfer) period.
The corporation MD said that they would shortlist suitable partners in a competitive process but a section of the officials present at the release of the concept note hinted anonymously to the East African Business Week that the deal has been sealed between the corporation and air company, Virgin Atlantic who are willing to pump in more than $300 million for the project.
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