President William Ruto has announced that the government intends to establish a Ksh150 billion pharmaceutical manufacturing hub in Murang’a.

The President said the facility will be constructed on the land that was ceded by Del Monte and has been earmarked to be transformed into an industrial hub.

Ruto said the government wants to have the medical supplies for all the hospitals to be produced in the country rather than imported from outside.

Speaking during the Investment Conference in Murang’a, the president said the government is gearing towards industrialisation to unlock opportunities that will help boost economic growth.

He said the government is also seeking to leverage the value chain in a bid to become competitive and get a niche in the global market.

“To fully unlock this potential, we must develop strong and competitive value chains for our products,” Ruto stated.

He said the government will also provide investor investor-friendly environment that will help the businesses in the country thrive.

“We are also doing a trade profile for key priority sectors to establish an end-to-end value chain,” he remarked.

Ruto said the government is banking on markets in China and the US, where the country can export its products and generate revenue.

“We are having bilateral talks with both countries to have the taxes imposed on the Kenyan produce removed, and there will be no hitches,” he added.

He urged the counties to tap into their potential and utilise it for economic growth, adding that the devolved utints are the key drivers of the economy.

He pointed out that the various opportunities in the counties will be used to tap investors during the Kenya International Investment Conference slated for March next year.

In addition, he said the establishment of the six Special Economic Zones will be the game changer for the country’s overall growth.

Murang’a governor Irungu Kang’ata said the county government is aiming at unlocking the economic potential of the area by tapping into industrialisation.

The county intends to utilise the land ceded by Del Monte by turning it into an industrial hub where investors will set up various establishments.

The governor highlighted the industrial park, Gikono landfill, the milk processing plant, Mukuruwe wa Nyagathanga and Mariira farm as the key opportunities for investment.

“We held this conference to showcase the opportunities that we have for a possible partnership with the investors,” he said.

Kang’ata said that by establishing industries, the investors will create job opportunities and generate revenue for the county, adding that the resources will be used to implement development projects in the area.

“This will be creating new revenue streams to boost the revenue for the county instead of increasing the taxes,” he remarked.

Interested investors will be required to fill out a form indicating their area of interest and submit it to the county.

He said the vetting of the applications by the investors will be completed by September, and the process for formalising the deal will kick off.

He said in a bid to secure the investments, the investors will be getting a 30-year leasehold agreement on the parcels of land they intend to develop.

“This is open to both local and international investors, and there are the standard parameters which will be used in the vetting,” he added.