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Dongo Kundu SEZ Off-Site Infrastructure

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Revision as of 06:30, 16 October 2026 by Jay (talk | contribs) (New project page for Dongo Kundu SEZ Off-Site Infrastructure, with sources, uploaded documents and counterpoints)
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A checked version of this page, approved on 16 October 2026, was based on this revision.
Stacked containers, trucks and railway sidings inside the Port of Mombasa in 2015, showing the road and rail links that carry cargo out of the port. It is the port, not the Dongo Kundu site.
SEZ Off-Site Infrastructure (last-mile connectivity), Dongo Kundu
Project
Statusunder construction
ThemeIndustry
PillarEconomic Development
CountiesMombasa
Lead organisationEconomic Development and Investment Council for Greater Mombasa
PartnersKenya Ports Authority, Japan International Cooperation Agency, Kenya National Highways Authority, Kenya Electricity Transmission Company
Budget74,100,000,000 KES
Funding sourceJapanese concessional loan and grant (JICA) and the national budget; EDIC's road element unfunded
Start year2020
End year2028
Websitehttps://edicpwani.ke/#OurPriorities

The Dongo Kundu SEZ Off-Site Infrastructure is a project within the Industry theme. It covers the roads, power, water and rail links needed to make the Dongo Kundu Special Economic Zone, on the south-west mainland of Mombasa County, usable by investors. The Economic Development and Investment Council for Greater Mombasa (EDIC) lists it as a priority and singles out a "critical port/SGR road connection" which it puts at about US$10 million. Most of the off-site works are already being built or procured by the national government with Japanese financing, within a KSh 74.1 billion allocation for the zone. As of October 2026 the port access road had been awarded but not started, power, water and sewerage were still in procurement, the rail spur was in design, and no industrial tenant was yet operating. No public source identifies the road that EDIC costs at US$10 million.

What it is

EDIC describes "targeted road links and utilities connecting the Mombasa SEZ to the port/SGR to unlock industrial investment and logistics efficiency", and says it will develop a concept note, engage the national government on policy fixes, and prioritise the port and railway road connection.[1] EDIC's home page also describes the zone as a US$1 billion opportunity creating about 40,000 jobs.[1]

The zone was declared under the Special Economic Zones Act in July 2019, covering about 1,214 hectares (3,000 acres) at Dongo Kundu.[2] Its master plan was prepared with JICA. In February 2020 JICA signed a loan of up to ¥37.09 billion for a first phase covering a berth, a main road and electricity, with the Kenya Ports Authority, the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) and the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (KETRACO) as executing agencies.[3] President William Ruto later described Japan's support as a KSh 37 billion concessional loan and a KSh 6 billion grant.[4]

The off-site works

In September 2026 the government said it had allocated KSh 74.1 billion to the zone, of which KSh 41.1 billion is for the Kenya Ports Authority's port component and KSh 6.5 billion for a 220 kV power line from Mariakani.[5] Earlier briefings to the Deputy President put the port access roads at KSh 7.5 billion and the power line at KSh 7 billion.[6] The main elements are:

  • Dongo Kundu bypass (Mombasa Southern Bypass), built with JICA loans; its first phase opened in 2018 and the whole road was opened to traffic in August 2024.[7]
  • Port access road linking the zone's new berth to the zone, about 4.6 km plus a 2.8 km ramp; KeNHA had awarded the contract by August 2026 but construction had not started.[8][9]
  • Power, a 220 kV line from Mariakani, still in procurement in August 2026.[8]
  • Water and sewerage, financed by JICA, also in procurement, with future supply from Tiwi and the Mwache Dam.[8][9]
  • Railway: a dedicated standard gauge railway spur with factory sidings, in design and procurement in 2026; in 2023 the then Trade Cabinet Secretary, Moses Kuria, said Afreximbank would fund an 11 km extension.[9][10]
  • Berth One, a 300 m berth for the zone, under construction since October 2025 and 16 per cent complete in September 2026, due in December 2028.[11]

Rationale

The case for the zone is industrial jobs and exports. Without roads, power and water, investors cannot build: in July 2026 the glass manufacturer Milly Glass said it could not build efficiently without an all-weather access road, and the Trade Cabinet Secretary, Lee Kinyanjui, promised one within weeks.[8] Interest is high: the President said in February 2025 that the Kenya Ports Authority had received 97 applications for close to 7,000 acres, and that Afreximbank had secured 500 acres for an industrial park.[4] EDIC's argument is that the last links to the port and railway decide whether that interest turns into investment.[1]

Status and timeline

Cabinet approved the zone in 2016,[12] it was declared in 2019, and JICA's loan was signed in 2020.[3] An Executive Order moved the zone from the Special Economic Zones Authority to the Kenya Ports Authority in August 2024.[6] The LPG terminal of Taifa Gas, the first investor, was about 85 per cent complete in September 2026; Milly Glass was due to break ground in 2026; and 94 investors had expressed interest.[11][8] The only jobs so far, about 700, were in berth construction.[5] In October 2026 no factory was operating, the access road and utilities were not built, and the railway spur was in design.[8][9]

How the project is being procured

The off-site works are national projects financed largely by JICA and procured by the Kenya Ports Authority, KeNHA and KETRACO; land and resettlement are paid from the national budget.[3][4] There is no PPP Terms of Reference for them. EDIC proposes to prepare a concept note for the port and railway road connection and to lobby the national government;[1] no source defines which road it means, and the government's own figure for the port access roads, KSh 7.5 billion, is far above EDIC's US$10 million.[6]

Who is involved

EDIC is a multi-stakeholder council for Greater Mombasa chaired by Dr Kevit Desai.[1] The Kenya Ports Authority, led by Captain William Ruto, develops the zone; JICA finances it; KeNHA builds the roads and KETRACO the power line.[3][11] Afreximbank holds land for an industrial park.[4]

Concerns and counterpoints

The off-site works themselves are uncontroversial; the concerns are about the zone they serve.

Slow delivery and promised jobs

Job forecasts for the zone have ranged from about 27,000 in 2016 to 40,000 and over 100,000 in later statements, against about 5,600 direct jobs in the transport ministry's 2026 description and 700 actual jobs so far.[12][5][10][13] Across Kenya, special economic zones had by early 2024 realised about US$960.7 million of investment and 4,392 jobs against 26,000 projected, according to figures Capital FM attributes to the National Investment Strategy.[14]

Tax incentives

Companies in special economic zones pay 10 per cent corporate income tax for ten years and 15 per cent for the next ten, against the standard 30 per cent. The Treasury's tax expenditure report treats these rates as part of the benchmark, so the revenue forgone is not counted as a tax expenditure.[15] The Kenya Revenue Authority told Parliament in 2024 that SEZ companies had been exempted from about KSh 1.99 billion of tax between 2015 and 2023.[16]

Land and resettlement

In 2023 the National Assembly Lands Committee asked why the Kenya Ports Authority was paying KSh 1.4 billion to people on land it already owned; the National Land Commission replied that it was a resettlement plan meeting JICA's safeguards, not compulsory acquisition.[17] By January 2025, KSh 1.2 billion had been paid to 1,712 households.[4] In 2024 Mombasa Woman Representative Zamzam Mohammed demanded the list of land allottees under the Access to Information Act,[18] and Senator Mohamed Faki alleged that Taifa Gas's land had been allocated without transparency.[19]

Fishers and mangroves

More than 3,000 fishers from four beach management units at Tsunza depend on the Mwache and Mteza creeks crossed by the bypass, and complained in 2019 of lost breeding grounds and no compensation.[20] A coast fishermen's group later sued over the zone, and the Kenya Ports Authority agreed to talks covering 39 beach management units;[21] in 2025 the President cited KSh 316 million allocated to fishers in 10 units.[4]

Sources

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Our Priorities, Economic Development and Investment Council for Greater Mombasa, read 15 October 2026.
  2. ↑ Kenya Gazette Vol. CXXI No. 93, Gazette Notice No. 6880: Declaration of Special Economic Zone, 26 July 2019, printed page 2700 (Gazettes.Africa archive copy).
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Signing of Japanese ODA Loan Agreement with the Republic of Kenya: Contributing to the establishment of a Special Economic Zone at Mombasa, JICA, 28 February 2020.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Remarks by President William Ruto at the signing of the Mombasa SEZ (Dongo Kundu) lease agreements with Afreximbank, Office of the President, 28 February 2025, pages 3 and 4.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Sh74.1 Billion Earmarked for Accelerated Development of Mombasa Special Economic Zone, Kenya Tribune, 11 September 2026.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 DP Kindiki: Dongo Kundu SEZ to transform Mombasa into regional trade hub, Citizen Digital, 23 January 2025.
  7. ↑ Dongo Kundu Bypass Highway, Wikipedia, read 15 October 2026.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 Slow infrastructure rollout stalls Dongo Kundu SEZ dream, Benard Sanga, The Standard, 6 August 2026.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Dongo Kundu: Building Kenya's new industrial and logistics gateway, Kenya Engineer, October 2026.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 State secures Sh150bn for Dongo Kundu projects, says CS Kuria, The Star, 26 September 2023.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Dongo Kundu SEZ gains momentum as berth construction reaches 16 per cent, Kibamba Victor, Jumuiya News, 11 September 2026.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Cabinet gives the nod for special economic zone construction in Mombasa, Business Daily, 21 February 2016.
  13. ↑ Dongo Kundu SEZ Moves Closer to Unlocking Its Economic Potential, State Department for Transport, 11 September 2026.
  14. ↑ Inside Kenya's SEZ strategy: Are Dongo Kundu, Naivasha and Tatu City delivering?, Phidel Kizito, Capital FM, 29 July 2026.
  15. ↑ Tax Expenditure Report 2024, The National Treasury and Economic Planning, September 2024, PDF pages 18 and 35.
  16. ↑ SEZ companies get Sh1.9bn tax incentives in nine years, Edwin Mutai, Business Daily, 8 May 2024.
  17. ↑ MPs raise alarm over Sh1.4 billion in compensation for Dongo Kundu squatters, Kevin Rotich, Capital FM, 24 July 2023.
  18. ↑ MP petitions KPA over Dongo Kundu SEZ land grab claims, Anthony Kitimo, Business Daily, 19 July 2024.
  19. ↑ Mombasa leaders want transparency on SEZ land, Reuben Mwambingu, People Daily, 3 September 2024.
  20. ↑ Fishermen demand Dongo Kundu bypass compensation, Fadhili Fredrick and Eunice Murathe, Business Daily, 10 September 2019.
  21. ↑ Hope for Coast fisherfolk as KPA ready for talks over Dongo Kundu project, The Star, 9 August 2023.
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