By Michelle Ndaga.
Busia County’s multi-billion-shilling Nasewa County Aggregation and Industrial Park is edging closer to completion, fueling optimism among government officials and residents that the project will transform the region’s agricultural sector and economy.
Launched in August 2023 by Trade Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria and Governor Paul Otuoma, the park sits on 843 acres in Matayos Sub-County. It is part of the national plan to establish an industrial and aggregation park in every county.
The project is valued at over KSh 3.25 billion, jointly funded by the national and county governments, each contributing KSh 250 million, with additional financing from a KSh 1 billion Export Processing Zone allocation and a KSh 40 billion African Export-Import Bank industrialization fund.
Phase One of the development features four aggregation warehouses, four cold rooms, an administration block, a powerhouse, a pump house, and a secure perimeter wall. It will process sunflower, sesame, groundnuts, soybean, cotton, rice, and cassava into products such as flour, starch, ethanol, animal feed, and organic fertilizer.
Government leaders have hailed the park as a game-changer. CS Kuria said it will be a “one-stop shop” for processing and marketing agricultural produce, reducing Kenya’s edible oil import bill, estimated at over KSh 100 billion annually, and creating about 5,000 jobs in its first phase, rising to more than 50,000 jobs once fully operational.
Governor Otuoma has called it a cornerstone for linking farmers to global value chains, improving rural incomes, and accelerating Busia’s shift from subsistence farming to agribusiness.
Public sentiment has been largely optimistic, with residents anticipating new employment opportunities and better market access. However, some have voiced concerns about delays and the risk of the project stalling, citing similar county industrial parks elsewhere in Kenya that remain incomplete.
Once operational, the Nasewa park is expected to anchor Busia’s economic revitalization, enhance food security, and position the county as a regional agro-industrial hub. For now, all eyes remain on the final construction push and the county government’s ability to deliver on its ambitious promise.
