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US firm wins bid to manage Kenya's Konza tech city
An artist’s impression of the Konza ICT city project to be located 60km from Nairobi. The project is expected to position Kenya as a hub of information technology innovation and business. Courtesy
Posted Tuesday, August 7 2012 at 21:23
New York-based HR & A Advisors has won a hotly contested contract to manage and develop Konza technopolis for about Sh168 million.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), which together with the World Bank carried out the tendering, communicated the verdict to the government last Friday, Information and Communication PS Bitange Ndemo told the Business Daily.
The firm was picked from six including AECOM International Development of Finland, Swedish Sweco International, Dohwa Consulting Engineers from Korea, and America’s SHoP Architects.
Dr Ndemo said that the firm would initially work for six months before it incubates a city regulatory body to be called the Konza Technopolis Development Authority.
“In summary, they will provide a detailed physical plan, provide terms of reference for master developers and set up the initial structures,” he said.
The announcement was made as the government yesterday reported that it was putting up a Sh16 billion dam to supply Konza Technology City with water as it emerged that 200 foreign firms were jostling for space to implement the multi-billion-shilling project.
Government officials said that a dual carriage road would be constructed to link Konza with Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi.
Water and Irrigation ministry PS David Stower said that the government had initiated the dam, to be constructed at the confluence of Athi and Thwake rivers, to provide one million litres of water daily. The multipurpose dam, which will also be used for irrigation and electricity generation, will be completed by October 2013.
“We do hope that this project starts next year and gets completed within three years,” he said.
Kenya announced that the Swedish government had won a subcontract to put up a science park within the city. Dr Ndemo said that Sweden was awarded the contract for the park due to its expertise in developing science parks and attracting investors.
The park will be an incubation centre for commercial business ideas and will also be used to develop human capital for research in the country.
“We have the experience of building and running science parks having put up a park that is currently holding 6,000 employees and students,” said Sten-Gunnar Jahannson, CEO of the Swedish government-owned Mijardev Science Park.
Neither Dr Ndemo nor the Swede disclosed the cost of the project.
Among contractors seeking to undertake projects in the proposed technopolis is the Chinese-government owned China Shanghai (Group) Corporation for Foreign Economic & Technological Cooperation (SFECO) which intends to put up roads, water and other related infrastructure.
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