Deputy President Kithure Kindiki (centre) during an inspection tour of ongoing works at the Shimoni Fish Port in Kwale county accompanied by Cabinet Secretary for Mining, Maritime Affairs and the Blue Economy Ali Hassan Joho and other officials on January 7, 2025.
The government is shifting focus from the Sh1.49 billion Liwatoni Fishing Complex which has been dogged by scandals to the Shimoni Fish port to boost the Blue Economy sector which has remained unexploited for years.
Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has directed the contractor to complete the Sh2.6 billion Shimoni Fish Port project by March this year, three months earlier than the stipulated time.
Though it seems unachievable considering it stands at 70 percent completion and the facilities expected to be put up, Prof Kindiki said the construction should be hastened for the facility to be commissioned in March.
“The government targets to expand the contribution of the Blue Economy value chains to the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from currently Sh37 billion to Sh80 billion annually by 2026 and thereafter to Sh150 billion by 2027 which would be half of the full potential fish value chain in the country of Sh300 billion annually,” said the DP.
According to the project plan, the port encompasses construction of a modern jetty, a fish landing site, a warehouse to host a fish processing plant, a cold storage and ice-making plant, a fish meal plant, and other support amenities.
The government seems less focused on the Liwatoni project which was touted to be a game changer in the fish sector but has been delayed in completion.
Then President Uhuru Kenyatta first directed phase one of the projects to be completed by the end of March 2021 to kick-start the blue economy exploitation but since then it has remained incomplete.
The project is intended to increase fish production from the current 146,687 tonnes to more than 350,000 tonnes in the next five years.
Key components of the Shimoni project which include a 70-meter-long jetty, an ice-making factory, a fire station, cooling machines, cold storage facilities, and other features are expected to be completed before the end of this year.
Last November, then Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs Cabinet Secretary Salim Mvurya said the project was to be launched in December 2024.
This did not materialise and the current CS Joho announced the re-advertisement of the tender which was blocked by a court.
Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah filed a lawsuit claiming that the re-advertisement of the tender by the government is part of a fraudulent scheme that risks misusing taxpayers' money since the project did not have any re-tender to be completed.
Liwatoni Fish Landing project's first phase was fully funded by the government at a cost of Sh1.5 billion while the second phase will be under the public-private-partnership arrangements.
The project comprises a fresh and frozen processing plant with a processing capacity of 100 tonnes of fish per day and producing approximately 50 tonnes of loins daily and a cannery with a processing capacity of 50 tonnes of raw material to produce 25 tonnes of finished products in cans; and cold storage of approximate capacity of 1000 tonnes.
The project was also meant to be a landing point caught by industrial fishing companies and local artisanal fishers and provide value addition through the processing of both Tuna and other species.
