Isiolo promise draws economic migrants

Douglas Kunja was a police officer in 1988 when he was transferred from Machakos to Isiolo. But he would hear none of it and chose to resign.

“Isiolo was always the butt of urban myths. There was no tarmac, no running water and no sewage system. It seemed like the end of the earth and there was no way I was going to accept the transfer.” 

Mr Kunja quit the force and went into real estate development. In March, 2011, he has voluntarily moved to Isiolo as one of the many economic migrants heading north.

He is developing office and rental properties to serve a growing demand as Isiolo suddenly explodes into Kenya’s newest economic hub. “With all these major projects going on in Isiolo, there is a mad rush to move there,” Mr Kunja says

“Every day, scores of settlers are arriving from Somalia, Meru, Nairobi and Central Kenya among other areas. Demand for property is rising like we have never witnessed before.”

Hardware store

One such settler is Ahmed Ibrahim who arrived in Isiolo from Garbatullah only a month ago. Ahmed has opened a hardware store and says business is picking up every single day; “Only a year ago, Garbatullah was busier than Isiolo economic-wise. But right now, you cannot compare what we were doing there with what we are doing now. Isiolo is reborn and all the signs are pointing to this soon becoming a major economic centre.” 

Isiolo has been targeted in the Vision 2030 programme to become an economic hub that will open up the Northern part of the country to development.

A resort city is planned to tap into a largely underdeveloped tourist circuit that comprises Meru National Park, Shaba Game Reserve, Samburu Game Reserve and about half a dozen private conservancies in the region. 

The road to Moyale, part of the Northern Corridor that links Cape Town and Cairo, is under construction and has already gone past Isiolo, opening up the town for a smooth connection to Nairobi, Meru and Nanyuki

But what is creating more buzz is the construction of an international airport. 

Business Daily visited the site where Gundan Singh Construction, the project contractor, is already on the ground and work is under way.

The airport is planned to connect the resort city with global travellers as well as provide a key outlet for miraa and horticulture exports from the Mount Kenya regions. Also envisioned under Vision 2030 is a railroad to open up landlocked South Sudan and Ethiopia. That too will make Isiolo a major transport node.

Isiolo is also a major focus of oil exploration efforts with sources at the Ministry of Energy intimating that it may be just a matter of time before oil is struck. This is because Isiolo sits on one of the world’s richest hydrocarbon belts. All these projects will take a few years to conclude. But investors are not waiting. 

When news of Isiolo’s boom reached Samburu late last year, Elijah Leseyiel sold his two cows and headed there. It has only been months since he started selling Samburu handicraft but he has come a long way.