Saturday July 13, 2024
The County Executive Committee Member for Business and Hustler Opportunities, Ms. Maureen Njeri, held a progress meeting with the County Engineers to assess the level of completion of design works for the Wood & Metal County Aggregation and Industrial Park planned for Mathare Sub County after the team embarked on a working session in June to finalize the design phase following the completion of the geotechnical survey.
Speaking at the roundtable interaction, Executive Member Ms. Njeri emphasized the importance of accountability and budgetary constraints. She proposed a phased approach to ensure sufficient resources are available for each plan.
“The topography of the site coupled with previous land use has rendered the project expensive,” Ms. Maureen said. “Establishing these go downs in compliance with standard building requirements to ensure the structural stability of the manufacturing facility is key noting the heavy equipment and machinery that will be accommodated in the warehouses.”
The first phase of the project will focus on the wood section, which will have two twin go-downs, each for wood processing and board processing respectively. These three-story facilities will accommodate parking, storage, and manufacturing. Other features will include a center of excellence for supporting capacity development and innovation, kilns (drying chambers), and elaborate civil works to ensure smooth vehicular and pedestrian movement for the expected creation of 10,000 jobs annually.
The Sector head also emphasized the importance of developing a business model to ensure the CAIP’s self-sustainability. The team has concluded the following processes as per the scope of works in this design and planning phase. This include architectural designs, structural, civil, electrical and mechanical designs, river riparian design model, public participation and the draft environmental and social impact assessment. The entire concept and designs will be tabled in cabinet in the coming weeks and ultimately submitted to the Council of Governors through the State Department of Industry (SDI).
Present: Eng. Nyambura Ndichu (Structural), Eng. Zakary Gitonga (Civil), Joseph Kitheka (Architect), James Njeru (Parks), Regina Mwangi (Trade Development), Sarah Ragga (Assistant Director, Industry), Elizabeth Njau (Director, Trade & Industries)
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