$2.7 Million Water Project Paves Way for Kinanie Leather Park in Kenya

The Kenyan Government has commissioned a Sh375 million($2.7 million) water supply project at the Kinanie Leather Industrial Park (KLIP) in Machakos County, paving the way for the industrial park to become fully operational.

The project includes two boreholes, a 25-kilometre transmission pipeline connected to the Mavoko water supply system, and an internal water distribution network within the industrial park.

The new system currently supplies around 1.3 million liters of water per day. The infrastructure has also been designed to increase capacity as demand grows and support up to 36 leather manufacturing companies.

The project was implemented by the Ministries of Investments, Trade and Industry and Water, Sanitation and Irrigation, in collaboration with other stakeholders. It is expected to encourage investment in Kenya’s leather value chain, create jobs and strengthen the country’s manufacturing sector.

"This Kinanie Leather Industrial Park was an idea we conceptualized in 2014. A dream that we started to have an industrial park that will transform Kenya's leather sector is now becoming a reality," Principal Secretary for Water and Sanitation Julius Korir said.

Korir said the project is part of President William Ruto’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), which aims to strengthen and modernize Kenya’s leather industry.

The availability of reliable water removes one of the major challenges that had delayed the full operation of the industrial park. With water infrastructure now in place, KLIP is expected to attract leather manufacturers, increase local value addition and help Kenya strengthen its position as a regional center for leather processing and production.

Korir also said the Ministry is implementing water projects worth about Sh3.7 billion across Machakos County, including the Machakos Town Water Supply and Sewerage Project, rehabilitation of Maruba Dam, the Mwala Water Supply Project and the proposed Uwangoni Dam.

The Kinanie Leather Industrial Park is a joint venture between the Kenya Leather Development Council (KLDC) and the Export Processing Zones Authority (EPZA).The industrial park is expected to create thousands of direct and indirect jobs through linkages across the leather value chain, including livestock farmers, tanneries, leather processors, artisans and manufacturers of finished leather products.