News

Kibaki visit yields lucrative development aid

Updated: 2010-09-21 09:25

Chinese involvement in development projects in all of Kenya's regions is set to grow following Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki's visit to Shanghai in May, when he invited China's business community to invest in the country.

Farmers across Kenya will gain from slated development partnerships.

During the successful five-day visit, the President attended bilateral talks with his host President Hu Jintao, which culminated in a KSh 1.2 billion grant towards Kenya's development projects.

President Jintao stated that President Kibaki's leadership had set Kenya on the growth path to drive the economies of countries in the East and Central Africa region, while President Kibaki called China "a genuine development partner and a critical ally in Kenya's economic revival that has led to major infrastructural development in the country."

The Asian country has donated around KSh 42 billion ($0.5 billion) in total development assistance to Kenya.

At talks with representatives of the China-Africa Development Fund, the organization's chief executive officer Chi Jianxin explained the CAD's desire to partner with private and public companies within the East African country, supporting projects funded through the official bilateral framework that already exists between the two countries.

Regions will benefit

Projects slated for consideration include High Grand Falls - which comes under the Tana and Athi Regional Development Authority - and various coal-powered electricity generation projects.

During the Shanghai visit, President Kibaki met with Pan Jilu, President of Hydro China Guiyang Corporation.

The hydropower and wind power generation, transmission and distribution company has already been involved in the $80 million Nandi multipurpose Hydro Power dam project along the Yala River in the Lake Basin region of the country, the Bubisa wind power generation project in Marsabit - a mountainous area in the Ewasi Nyiro North region, and the Ewaso Nyiro South multipurpose irrigation and hydropower project.

President Kibaki also met with Zhang Renjun, Senior Vice President of ZTE Corporation, a global telecommunications, equipment and networks provider which has been working on the Western Kenya and North Rift Fibre Optical Cabling extending to the Southern Sudan border.

President Kibaki assured Chinese investors that the government is doing everything possible to guarantee a friendly environment. He directed the ministries of Finance, Regional Development and Energy to organize consultative meetings with companies interested in Kenya's development needs and work out modalities of implementing identified projects.

President Kibaki also attended the official opening of the Expo 2010 Shanghai, which saw a record of 192 countries participating and gave Kenyan entrepreneurs the opportunity to display and promote their products and services in the huge Chinese and Asian markets.

During bilateral talks held between the two presidents, agreements were reached on the funding of Vision 2030 flagship projects including the construction of Lamu Port and new areas of development cooperation such as health and education, including scholastic exchanges.

China Daily

(China Daily 09/21/2010 page18)