Workers at the construction site of the Liwatoni Fisheries Complex in Mombasa County on March 2, 2021.
The government is shifting focus from the controversial Sh1.49 billion Liwatoni Fishing Complex to the Shimoni Fish Port in a bid to boost the under-exploited blue economy.
Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has ordered the contractor to complete the Sh2.6 billion Shimoni Fish Port project by March, three months ahead of schedule.
Although this may seem unattainable given that the project is 70 per cent complete, given the equipment expected to be installed, Prof Kindiki said construction should be accelerated so that the facility can be commissioned by then.
"The government is targeting to increase the contribution of the blue economy value chain to the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from the current Sh37 billion to Sh80 billion annually by 2026 and thereafter to Sh150 billion by 2027, which would be half of the country's full potential fish value chain of Sh300 billion annually," the DP said.
According to the project plan, the port will include the construction of a modern jetty, a fish landing site, a warehouse to house a fish processing plant, a cold storage and ice-making plant, a fish meal plant and other support facilities.
Kenya seems less focused on the Liwatoni project, which was touted as a game-changer in the fish sector, but whose completion has been delayed.
Then President Uhuru Kenyatta initially ordered the first phase of the project to be completed by the end of March 2021 to kick-start the exploitation of the blue economy, but it has since remained incomplete.
Mr Kenyatta launched the project in November 2018 to harness Kenya's potential in the blue economy.
