Chinese firm Boleyn Magic Wall Panel will invest Sh 12 billion to build Kisii New City.
This follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Kisii County Government and the Chinese investor following the inaugural Kisii Entrepreneurship Summit, KES 2016. Real Estate firm Moke Gardens is the local partner in the project.
Governor James Ongwae and the firm’s Managing Director Jack Liu signed the MoU in a ceremony witnessed by Chief Officer for Trade and Industry John Obwocha and Moke Gardens Managing Director Harun Nyamboki.
In the project, Boleyn Magic Wall Panel Limited will construct 2,000 units of houses to meet the housing demand for public servants and the general public in Kisii County. The New City will include residence, bank buildings, office buildings, shopping mall, kindergarten, schools and a health centre as well as a city hall.
To implement the project, the firm will set up one pre-cast plant in Kisii County and will train 1,000 youth and women for employment in the first year. The plant will serve 13 Counties in the Lake Region Economic Bloc.
“I would like to thank the investor for coming to Kisii and expressing interest in building the new city in Kisii. In Kisii County, we have laid the necessary ground ready for take off in order to spur development. Working with the County Assembly, we will do our best to avail land and any other support for the investor,” said Ongwae.
“I am grateful for this opportunity to invest in Kisii. Indeed, upgrading the people’s standards of living is the core duty of the County Government and we shall partner to achieve this goal. We shall move with speed to form our teams to ensure the project is implemented as per plan,” said Liu.
Nyamboki said the European technology used to make pre-fabricated buildings is cost effective as it reduces construction time and produces better quality for houses.
Preliminary feasibility studies have indicated the viability of the project. The precast plant will require 20 acres of land while the new city will initially take 50 acres of land to establish eventually expanding to a radius of 10 kilometres.
The project will be a major boost to the Kisii County economy, as it will create 1,000 direct jobs and over 20,000 indirect jobs.
