Kilifi set to become manufacturing hub with launch of Sh16 billion industrial park

President William Ruto during the launch of the Vipingo Special Economic Zone in Kilifi County on September 16, 2025. (Photo: PCS)

By Farhiya Hussein
Tuesday, September 16, 2025

The 2,000-acre Vipingo Special Economic Zone (SEZ), is expected to generate 50,000 direct jobs and at least 250,000 indirect opportunities once fully operational.

President William Ruto on Tuesday launched a Sh16 billion industrial park in Kilifi County, pledging the project will create more than 300,000 jobs and anchor the coast region as a new manufacturing hub.

The 2,000-acre Vipingo Special Economic Zone (SEZ), developed by Arise Integrated Industrial Properties (ARISE IIP) and Centum Investment Company, is expected to generate 50,000 direct jobs and at least 250,000 indirect opportunities once fully operational. It forms part of a wider 10,000-acre masterplan in Vipingo.

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Ruto said Special Economic Zones would help Kenya cut dependence on raw exports by adding value to local production.

“SEZs are where we want to add value to all the raw materials we produce in Kenya. The interventions we have put in place are creating the right fiscal and financial ecosystems to support this enterprise. This will help us create jobs, generate value, and make sure we become exporters of finished products,” he told investors and local leaders at the groundbreaking.

The Vipingo Park is expected to host industries in agro-processing, textiles, pharmaceuticals, and logistics. It will also include warehousing facilities, a commercial centre, and residential zones for workers.

The launch coincided with the ARISE IIP Kenya Investment Forum, where Ruto held a roundtable with investors, cabinet secretaries and county officials to discuss opportunities in Kenya’s SEZ programme.

Arise IIP founder and chief executive Gagan Gupta said the project would position Kenya as a regional logistics and manufacturing hub.

“Kenya’s strategic location and skilled workforce make it an ideal destination for long-term growth. We are committed to working with both government and private sector to drive sustainable industrialisation that creates jobs and builds local value chains,” he said.

Centum Group chief executive James Mworia said the SEZ would help Kenya leverage its trade deals with the European Union, United Kingdom, United States and Africa under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

“To seize the opportunities created by these agreements, we must attract investors who can produce competitively for those markets, and that is exactly what SEZs are designed to do,” he noted.

The Vipingo project follows Arise IIP’s partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Vision Invest, a move intended to boost the delivery of large-scale industrial parks in Africa. The company is also collaborating with the Kenyan government and Afreximbank on SEZs in Naivasha and Dongo Kundu.

Kilifi leaders have long pressed for industrial investment in the region, where unemployment and underutilised land remain key challenges.