Konza Technopolis is positioning itself as a manufacturing destination, with an operational Export Processing Zone (EPZ), factories being established and infrastructure designed to support industrial investors.
The emerging manufacturing base could also open opportunities for Kenyan businesses supplying goods and services to factories.
The EPZ, located within Konza’s Special Economic Zone, is designed to accommodate factories producing goods for export. Its initial manufacturing focus includes textiles, electronics, solar products and accessories, with further investments in electronics and glass production anticipated, according to Technopolis Development Authority Chief Executive John Paul Okwiri.
“Lucky DJX is one of our investors in the Technopolis, and he’s an investor that has established an export processing zone. So the EPZ is an industrial park that will have many factories, manufacturing factories for export. Now the first one is focussing on textile and electronics, solar and solar accessories.”
As manufacturing activity expands, opportunities could extend beyond factory employment to local enterprises supplying raw materials, components, packaging, transport, equipment maintenance and other production-related services.
Okwiri said the initial factories had outlined substantial recruitment plans, with further manufacturing investments expected at Konza.
“So those are the first two factories that have been established there. There are many more to come in the Technopolis that will be manufacturing, including electronics and also glass, so that in the near future we’ll be able to export products from the export processing zone. The current factory has been able to, and has planned to, recruit up to 10,000 people to work in the zone.”
The recruitment figure is a stated target, rather than a confirmed count of jobs already created.
Beyond factory development, Konza has invested in infrastructure intended to support industrial operations, including approximately 40 kilometres of internal roads and an electricity distribution network serving the first phase.
Engineer Vincent Oyola, who supports the technopolis’ daily operations, explained that electricity is distributed through a system designed to make connections to individual investor parcels more straightforward.
According to Oyola, power is brought to a 66-kilovolt sub-distribution station, where transformers reduce the voltage to 11 kilovolts for distribution across the development. From there, electricity is routed through the distribution network to designated cabins within investor parcels. These cabins provide connection points from which individual developments can be supplied, subject to their specific electrical requirements.
Oyola said the arrangement was intended to simplify the process for investors connecting to the network.
“Then from 11kV, we are now able to distribute it to the cabins that are within the parcels. So every parcel has a provision for one cabin. So once an investor buys a parcel, it is plug-and-play.”
The provision of distribution infrastructure means investors do not have to establish the entire electricity network serving their parcels from scratch. However, the final connection and any additional electrical installations will depend on the needs of each factory.
Oyola said the installed distribution system was designed to meet the electricity demand of the development’s first phase.
“But for phase one, we have enough power to supply our load demand for the entire phase one of Konza Technopolis.”
Local enterprises that meet manufacturers’ requirements on quality, pricing, reliability, delivery schedules and production standards will be better positioned to secure supply contracts as Konza’s industrial base expands.
As more manufacturers establish operations, the extent to which Kenyan businesses participate in their supply chains will be an important measure of the wider economic benefits generated by Konza’s industrial development.
