(MOMBASA, KENYA) – The government has allocated KES 74.1 billion ($571 million / GBP 450 million) for key enabling infrastructure to fast track the operationalisation of the Mombasa Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Dongo Kundu and unlock its potential for investment, job creation and export growth.
The Principal Secretary (PS) for Transport, Mohamed Daghar, said the government was committed to completing critical auxiliary infrastructure, including berths, roads, railways, power, water and sewerage systems, to make the SEZ attractive to investors.
The SEZ is being developed on 3,000 acres and will comprise a free port, industrial parks, free trade zones, logistics and warehousing facilities, energy project areas, tourism and Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE), among other developments.
More than 90 investors have expressed interest in establishing businesses within the SEZ, with the construction of a KES 16 billion ($123 million / GBP 97 million) Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) terminal by Taifa Gas, a Tanzanian firm, already 80% complete.
The SEZ is being developed and managed by the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) PLC, which is implementing the KES 41.1 billion ($317 million / GBP 250 million) port component of the project. Under the component, KPA is constructing seven berths and yards occupying 1,300 acres of the 3,000 acre SEZ, underlining its pivotal role in facilitating trade.
PS Daghar led 14 government agencies involved in the project to inspect the progress of the SEZ and the construction of Dongo Kundu Berth One, which is currently 16% complete. Construction of the multi purpose, 300 metre long berth commenced in October 2025 and is scheduled for completion in December 2028.
PS Daghar said the berth would enable post Panamax and other extra large vessels to dock safely. It will be connected to a 4.6 kilometre road and a 2.8 kilometre ramp.
“The berth has a draft of 15 metres; that means it has been dredged to a depth of 15 metres, which comes second to what we have in Lamu, which are berths that have been dredged to a depth of 17.5 metres. This particular berth will be supported by a dedicated SEZ which is beside us here,” he said.
The SEZ is expected to create 40,000 jobs; it will be connected to a seaport, railway line and road networks, providing seamless movement of goods into and out of the zone.
“We also have a dedicated railway, the standard gauge railway, whose designs have already been incorporated, that is going to run through the entire SEZ with special sidings to particular factories of the investors that are setting up shop here and be connected to the main Mombasa, Nairobi, Naivasha, Kisumu, and Malaba line,” explained the PS.
To ensure a reliable supply of electricity for industries, the government has allocated KES 6.5 billion ($50 million / GBP 39.5 million) for the construction of a 50 kilometre, 220 kV double circuit transmission line from the Mariakani substation to the SEZ.
“It is going to be supported by two transformers of 75 MVAs and also a dedicated substation, particularly just for Dongo Kundu,” said the PS, adding that the SEZ would receive water from Tiwi and the multi purpose Mwache Dam, which is almost complete.
“As a government, we are committed to ensuring that we put up the enabling horizontal infrastructure so that investors can come and set up shop. That is why we have a berth, we have a road, we are going to have power, we are going to have water and sewerage, and we are going to enable all that,” he affirmed.
Last year, a lease agreement was signed between the African Export Import Bank (Afreximbank), KPA and the Special Economic Zone Authority for the development of the Mombasa and Naivasha Special Economic Zones (SEZs), in a move aimed at bolstering the country’s industrialisation and export manufacturing agenda.
Afreximbank will finance the development of the two integrated industrial parks in line with the Bottom Up Economic Transformation Agenda through a $1 billion (approximately KES 128.5 billion) financing package for value addition.
The PS said President William Ruto was keen to position Kenya as a manufacturing hub and create millions of employment opportunities.
“This is how we are fulfilling the promise that the President talked about of taking this particular country from where it currently is to the first industrialised nation that it deserves. If there is a true journey of Singapore, this is the journey.”
KPA PLC Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Capt. William Ruto, said construction of the berth had created 700 jobs for local youth, with more employment opportunities expected as the project progresses.
He encouraged investors to focus on value addition, noting that the SEZ would emerge as a major logistics and manufacturing hub.
“This place will be more or less like a logistics hub, and as we pride ourselves as the gateway to Eastern and Central Africa, the infrastructure that we are putting in place is infrastructure that we can call the scalable infrastructure of the future,” said Capt. Ruto.
He added, “Because even in the future, when we would want to deepen this berth, we will not need to break the infrastructure, but we will only be able to dredge. The infrastructure will be able to withstand future developments.”
The Chief of Staff in the Prime Minister’s Cabinet Secretary Office, Mr Joseph Busiega, said the mega project would have far reaching multiplier effects on employment and manufacturing.
“This is a game changer in terms of economic development, and we are determined, through the leadership of H.E the President, to ensure that this project is completed in the time set, which is before September 2028, and that is going to happen,” said Mr Busiega.