Overview of industrial zones featuring warehouses and power plants.
By  No Comments 5 min Read

Inside Naivasha SEZ

The Naivasha SEZ is a massive ,even though unpopular, public Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Nakuru City. Some may know it as Olkaria SEZ but it all falls under Naivasha SEZ since Olkaria is part of it due to the expansion that happened in 2024.

Background:

The development is located about 19km from Nairobi CBD inside Ruiru, Kiambu county and currently owned and developed by Rendeavour. Rendeavour is a private developer backed by international capital (American, British, Norwegian, New Zealand) investors.

The SEZ sits on a 5000 acre piece of land that was originally part of the Belgian Socfinaf coffee farm previously known as Tatu Estate before being acquired by Rendeavour in 2010 whereby it was converted to a mixed use project and rebranded to Tatu City. In 2011, the master planning and development began with a projected investment of about ksh 240 billion and dragged into a long court battle due to shareholder wars until 2017 when the lands committee of the parliament absolved it of any wrong doing. In the same year, it was declared a SEZ under Gazette Notice 4892 and later designated as a project of strategic national importance under Kenya Vision 2030 via Gazette Notice No. 4975.

Operations:

  • The SEZ houses enterprises in the fields of auctions, EV assembly, cold storage, logistics, steel manufacturing, glass production and energy infrastructure .
  • It enjoys all the incentives as a SEZ. A critical competitive edge is access to geothermal power from Olkaria, offering a remarkably low tariff of Ksh 5 per kWh, enhancing cost‑efficient operations. Other SEZs are at Ksh 10 per KWh.
  • Infrastructure support so far includes water piping, internal link roads and a power substation.
  • SEZA has faced substantial funding shortfalls, with the development budget slashed or absent in multiple fiscal years (e.g zero allocation in 2022‑23), thus undermining progress in key infrastructure such as administration blocks, water, roads, sewerage, effluent treatment and security infrastructure. It was estimated that approximately 4.5B is needed to get the operations fully ongoing.

Development Status:

  • Completed 90 MW power sub‑station, pipeline of piped water, internal roads, power and water access. Administrative facilities now beginning to take shape.
  • Road link from the SEZ to the Standard Gauge Railway and Inland Container Depot is 80% complete, with Ksh1.2 B spent and expected to be used before the end of the year.
  • A regional logistics hub of 50 acres is under study by Northern Corridor member states to enable cargo consolidation and routing. A feasibility study is underway.
  • As of 2024, about 10 companies had certified investment deals totaling Ksh 30 billion, with projected creation of 3,000 jobs and upward scaling to 10,000 jobs.
  • Latest reports show that 16 more companies have committed investments of approximately USD 131 million, lured especially by affordable power tariffs.

Some notable developments include:

  • Jumbo AAA Holding SEZ Ltd – an automotive auction entity worth Ksh 238 million and projected to generate about 180 jobs.
  • JAFRO SEZ Ltd – a cold storage plant worth Ksh 133 million and projected to generate about 54 jobs.
  • Accurate Steel Mill SEZ Ltd – a steel works plant worth Ksh 1.8 billion and projected to generate about 60 jobs.
  • Africa Global Logistics (AGL) – a warehousing/logistics base worth Ksh 3.3 billion and projected to generate about 1,526 jobs.
  • TAD Motor SEZ Ltd – an EV assembly plant worth Ksh 1.5 billion and projected to generate about 267 jobs.
  • Horizon Glass SEZ Ltd – a glass bottling plant worth Ksh 19.6 billion and projected to generate about 200 jobs.
  • Crystal Frozen & Chilled Foods – a frozen potato‑processing plant worth Ksh 645 M is underway and expected to create about 359 jobs.

Conclusion:

  • As a public SEZ, Naivasha benefits from close alignment with SEZA and relevant state agencies, allowing for exra incentives (e.g subsidized power tariffs). Its location near the Inland Container Depot and SGR gives it logistical advantage, while access to geothermal power makes it one of the most energy-efficient zones in the region.
  • However, its trajectory remains vulnerable to the pitfalls of delayed infrastructure rollout due to inconsistent budget allocations. Investor enthusiasm could be tempered if site-readiness, utilities, and security are not fully delivered to match policy promises.
  • Recent government action, the land expansion, has now transitioned it into a light industrial hub. Its long-term success will depend on full infrastructure delivery, dedicated local governance (as seen with Konza’s KoTDA), and sustained policy consistency to deepen the industrial ecosystem and attract anchor tenants across priority value chains.

Our goal is to make Naivasha a hub for sustainable industrialization and investment, benefiting both the economy and the people.

Dr. Chelule, CEO of Special Economic Zones Authority (SEZA)

For more information, reach out to us via info@rickfes.co.ke

At Rickfes Construction Ltd, we are keen to receive and facilitate investors;  local or international; seeking to establish their developments into this SEZ. Our role is to be your development partner, liaison and local representative on the ground while in setting up in this SEZ.