China-based gas cylinder maker to set up in Tatu

Real estate firm Tatu City has sold seven acres of industrial land to a Chinese family-owned gas cylinder manufacturer, Tianlong.

Tatu City senior development manager Chris Ochieng said the cylinder maker had received approval from Kenya Bureau of Standards to locally manufacture canisters for the Kenyan as well as the East African export market.

“We have serviced land for foreign and local investors for a build-own-operate model where investors buy land and we handle all regulatory approvals to fast-track the process. This has made Tatu Industrial Park a viable investment choice for companies within and outside Kenya looking to enter the domestic market,” he said.

Tianlong general manager William Wang said Kenya was its African hub. The new plant will offer direct employment to 200 skilled locals from technical colleges and universities once it launches operations in the next one year.

The facility is eyeing gas refill firms in Kenya as well as the East and West African market.

Tatu Industrial Park is a licensed light industrial zone in Kiambu County that has also attracted consumer and personal brands including Unilever, edible oils and detergent maker Bidco Africa, coffee roaster and marketer Dormans, tissue products maker Kim-Fay and logistics firm Maxam as well as several real-estate developers.

In February, Lifestyle Estates broke ground for a Sh3.5 billion project where 450 apartments would be built on 10 acres while Rendeavour Group, which owns Tatu City, announced plans to build Tatu Waters Estate comprising 2,715 residential houses worth Sh35 billion.