Kenya plans Textile City at EPZ in Athi River town

01 May '14

2 min read

The plan for setting up a Textile City at the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) in Athi River town, outside the capital Nairobi, is currently in advanced stage, Kenya’s Industrialisation and Enterprise Development Cabinet Secretary Adan Mohamed has said.

If the proposed Textile City materializes, Kenya would become the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to have an exclusive Textile City, aimed at attracting foreign investments and creating new employment opportunities, according to local media reports.

During a meeting with a visiting 40 member delegation of global garment manufacturing companies, Mr. Mohamed said that by establishing a Textile City, the Kenyan Government seeks to address the existing industrialization problems at the EPZ in Athi River town.

He said the Ministry of Industrialization and Enterprise Development, which would spearhead the setting up of the Textile City, is expecting investment from at least 100 textile firms at the City, and create over 200,000 new job opportunities by December 2016.

The 40-member delegation included representatives of some of the leading global apparel firms like PVH and VF Corporation.

The Textile City is part of the Kenyan Government’s recent National Industrialization Roadmap, which aims at increasing the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by Sh 350-520 billion per year over the next 16 years.

At the proposed Textile City, land would be leased to foreign companies for investing in cotton ginning, yarn spinning, production of fabrics and home textiles, and garment and apparel accessories manufacturing.

The Kenyan textile industry collapsed in the 1980s, mainly due to the increasing import of second-hand clothing, which led to loss of employment in the sector. Subsequently, cotton production also fell as farmers abandoned the crop.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

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