The Kenya Kwanza government aims to support Konza technopolis by fast-tracking the enactment of the Konza Bill and giving investors tax-incentives on construction materials to accelerate the development of the project’s vertical infrastructure.
While reiterating that Konza Technopolis will start manufacturing affordable smartphones and computer software soon, the Cabinet Secretary for Information, Communication and the Digital Economy in Kenya, Eliud Owalo said the government has already invested heavily in the project with the Kenya Kwanza government committed to develop the smart city to world-class levels.
“My presence here today is simply to assure you that the government is committed to develop Konza Technopolis to a world class city. My Ministry is working to ensure that we deliver the Konza Bill to properly anchor the project into law to protect our investor’s interest.”
“We have invested heavily in Konza and we shall continue to support the institution to deliver on its mandate. We take the great progress that the city has made, including the developing of KAIST which is being undertaken jointly with the Ministry of Education,” said CS Owalo.
So far, 25 investors in the Phase one have their leases registered, while ten investors’ designs have been approved.
On January 24th 2023 Konza Technopolis held a financiers-investor program which was aimed at supporting the investors to overcome challenges such as the high cost of construction materials and long-term affordable financing.
The Kenya Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) is expected to admit its first students by the end of the year 2023.
The construction of the institution is already ongoing in the city.
While urging the investors to ground break and move business to Konza, the CS noted that the government is available to unlock any challenges that they may face in developing their businesses.
“At a policy level, we are available to ensure that we have the appropriate policies for the city. We will ensure that from an incentive perspective, there are adequate policies, laws and regulations that will facilitate private sector investment within Konza,” he said.
During the event that was also attended by the Principal Secretary for ICT and Digital Economy, Eng. John Tanui, the acting CEO of KoTDA, John Paul Okwiri noted that they are looking forward to having atleast five investors doing their groundbreaking in the next 12 months.
“We are glad with the investment we have made as a city. Looking forward, we are seeking to accelerate our vertical infrastructure development. In the next 12 months, we are looking forward to having atleast five investors doing their ground breaking for vertical infrastructure development,” he said.
