PLANS to operationalise the Kenanie Leather Industrial Park in Machakos countyhave received a major boost, after a lease agreement was reached between two state entities.

The Kenya Leather Development Council (KLDC) and the Export Processing Zones Authority (EPZA) have signed a lease, paving way for the Sh5 billion government-funded project to become operational, ending a 10-year delay.

This milestone, overseen by the Ministry of Investments, Trade and Industry, marks a significant step towards onboarding investors into the leather sector and is expected to generate both direct and indirect employment opportunities.

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Investments, Trade and Industry CS Lee Kinyanjuihas since emphasised the urgency of making the park fully operational.

“Leather is a multi-billion-shilling industry which, if properly harnessed, can transform the livelihoods of livestock farmers and boost economic growth through local production and export,” he said.

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The CS noted that due to limited local supply, many footwear and leather goods manufacturers are currently forced to rely on imports.

He challenged KLDC to actively engage slaughterhouses and offer training on best practices to minimise damage to hides and skins at the source.

Thepark is equipped with modern infrastructure including tanneries, leather manufacturing warehouses, serviced plots, electricity, water, ICT infrastructureand a common effluent treatment plant.

The lease agreement was signed by KLDC board chair Mohammed Adan, CEOIssack Noor, EPZA chairperson, and EPZA CEO Richard Cheruiyot and CEO Richard Omelu.

Also present were Industry PS Juma Mukhwanaand his Investment counterpart Abubakar Hassan.

The development could see the park come to life before the initial target date of December.

It is expected to not only reduce the country’s dependency on imported leather products, like shoes, but also enable Kenyan to tap into the estimated Sh175 billion market potential in the leather value chain. 

The park is also expected to boost local manufacturing, cut import costs and create over 100,000 jobs, up from the current 17,000, once fully operational.