Race Against Time: Lawmakers Push for Faster Completion of Kakamega’s Sh500M Industrial Park

A parliamentary committee has praised progress on a multi-million shilling industrial park in Kakamega County—but warned that time is running out to deliver the project before the next general election.

Members of the National Assembly Departmental Committee on Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, led by Vice Chairperson Marianne Keitany, toured the County Aggregation and Industrial Park (CAIP) in Sinoko Ward, Likuyani, where they acknowledged visible progress on the ground.

“We are happy there is work happening here,” Keitany said during the visit. “But the contract period has lapsed, and even the extension is coming to an end. We want to see this project completed before the close of the 13th Parliament.”

The lawmakers stressed that completing CAIPs across counties could be a game changer—boosting local manufacturing, reducing imports, and creating much-needed jobs, especially for young people.

The Kakamega project, sitting on a 50-acre piece of land in Likuyani, is valued at nearly KSh 500 million and is jointly funded by the county and the national government. So far, the county has contributed KSh 150 million, with an additional KSh 100 million already budgeted and awaiting release.

However, the committee raised concerns about the pace of implementation, cautioning against disbursing funds that do not match the level of work completed on site.

Kakamega County Trade and Industrialisation CEC Geoffrey Owuor acknowledged the delays, revealing that the project currently stands at 46 percent completion.

“We have supported the contractor, even extending the contract after it lapsed,” Owuor said. “There is money available—we now need to see faster work and proper certification to unlock further funding.”

According to project managers, environmental challenges linked to the terrain have slowed progress. Still, the contractor has pledged to accelerate works, promising to complete the erection of structural columns within two weeks before moving to the roofing phase.

Committee members, including Antony Oluoch and Wario Guyo, urged both the county and contractor to move with speed, warning that delays could undermine the project’s intended impact.

They also called on local residents to keep a close watch on the project and hold implementers accountable.

Once complete, the industrial park is expected to transform Kakamega County into a regional hub for agro-processing and manufacturing—offering farmers a ready market for their produce and opening up employment opportunities for thousands.

For now, however, the race is on to turn steel, concrete and ambition into a functioning industrial hub before the political clock runs out.