Indian firm targets Lake Victoria oil transport deal
An Indian investor plans to transport oil products between Kisumu and Port Bell in Uganda via Lake Victoria in a bid to cut high costs incurred moving the commodity by road.
Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) acting managing director Flora Okoth says discussions have been going on with the Indian firm Mahati, which has won an 18-month contract with the government of Uganda for the supply of oil.
Ms Okoth says the move, if successfully executed, will cut the number of trucks on the road coming from Uganda to collect fuel in Kenya.
“We have been in discussion with an Indian investor so that he can start evacuating oil from our depot in Kisumu to Uganda via Port Bell,” said Ms Okoth in an interview with Shipping& Logistics.
National Construction Authority says 18,000 contractors in Kenya registered
The National construction Authority (NCA) now says that 18,000 contractors from different fields in the construction industry in Kenya have been registered a move that it believes will boost safety in the industry.
Executive Director for National Construction Authority Mr. Daniel Manduku confirmed the reports and said that over 150,000 workers in the construction industry had been earlier accredited with an aim of enforcing order to the construction sector.
“We have now registered all contractors in Kenya and this move gives us the opportunity to regulate the industry in a structured manner with premium placed on safety of buildings and transfer of technology,” said Mr. Manduku.
Ugandan firm Pearl to construct dairy factory in Kenya
Ugandan firm Pearl Dairy Farms has announced plans to construct a dairy factory in Kenya that will be tasked with production and repackaging of milk products. The factory to be constructed in the capital Nairobi is aimed at growing Pearl’s market share in the region.
Atul Chaturvedi, the CEO of Pearl confirmed the reports and said that the initial estimate of the investment in the planned factory stands at about US$ 1m.
“We have for a long time been serving the Kenyan market from Uganda and our new factory will help in repackaging our products and subsequently set up a plant,” Atul Chaturvedi, the CEO of Pearl further said.
Unilever eyes Tatu City land in Sh17bn plan
Consumer goods manufacturer Unilever East Africa is set to acquire a 70-acre piece of land in Kiambu’s Tatu City, setting the stage for its Sh17 billion expansion plans.
The producer of OMO detergent and Blue Band margarine said it had signed an agreement with the property developer to buy the land for hundreds of millions of shillings, with the exact price undisclosed.
The multinational is now expected to build a new factory in the location in the medium term, replacing the current plant it has operated at Nairobi’s Industrial Area for decades.
This will be part of the Sh17 billion investments in Kenya announced by its global chief executive Paul Polman last year.
