Confidence has brought Kenya where it is today

[chui]

Just what is drawing all these companies to Nairobi???

http://www.eastandard.net/hm_news/ne...eid=1143972154

Business News

Celtel Africa relocates to Nairobi
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

By Kenneth Kwama

Mobile Telecommunication Company Celtel International is set to relocate its regional office from Netherlands to Nairobi.

Celtel Kenya CEO Mr David Murray confirmed the move, saying the presence of Celtel-Africa offices in Nairobi will greatly benefit operations of the Kenyan office and offer several job opportunities to locals.

"Both offices will work independently, but the fact that the Africa office will be located here is an added advantage because it will offer us a number of synergies and also support local operations," Murray said in an interview.

This is seen as part of the parent company’s move to expand and consolidate its position in the African market.

The move comes hot on the heels of a recent announcement by Mobile Telecommunication Company Group (MTC) of Kuwait that it was setting up a US$10.5 billion investment fund to expand mobile telecommunication operations in Africa through Celtel International.

MTC owns Celtel, which has a presence in 14 African countries including Zambia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria, Niger and the Democratic Republic of Congo, amongst others.


Endorsement of the country as an excellent destination for Foreign Direct Investment


MTC also disclosed it was embarking on an expansion programme code-named Acceleration, Consolidation, Expansion (ACE), aimed at tripling the company’s customer base to 70 million subscribers by 2011.

Celtel Africa currently has about 25 million subscribers. Murray said the move was a serious endorsement of the country as an excellent destination for Foreign Direct Investment and good logistical network.

Celtel International gave a hint of its intentions for Africa last year when it pioneered the development of one network across East Africa.

This later expanded to cover Congo and the DRC. This, Murray said, significantly lowered the cost of international calls across these countries by eliminating interconnectivity costs.

"It means if you are roaming on a Kenyan number, you are able to remain within the same network, thus eliminate other costs that come with international calls," he said.

Celtel Kenya says it is set to add a number of new products to its product line up and also add value to the already existing services as part of its expansion plans.


Firms have been lobbying for the removal of excise duty


"We don’t want to exactly say what we are planning to do, but all actions are intended to give the best value to our customers," Murray said, adding that one of the company’s tariffs called ‘Mambo 6’ is very popular amongst the youth and has so far netted over 100,000 new customers.

"These are people who want to talk to their friends and family and have been finding it easier and cheaper to do this through this tariff. We still expect the number to grow," said Murray.

He, however, said that the mobile communications sector is yet to have a level playing field, despite attempts by the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK).

Both Celtel and Safaricom have been lobbying for the removal of excise duty on mobile services. Telkom Kenya, which has also started offering wireless services, pays Value Added Tax (VAT), but not excise tax.

Murray praised the decision by the CCK to implement a number of reforms, including putting an upper limit to cross-network call charges, saying it was good for growth of the industry.

He said the sale of telephone lines by his company had jumped by 30 per cent since implementation of the new directions.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[kulani]

That's a good move by Celtel International and definitely a vote of confidence in Nairobi. I have always wondered how wise it was to have their head-office being based in the Netherlands away from all their businesses.

[Kenguy]

My guess is that kenya is favoured by its geographical position. Celtel largely covers the East and Central African region and is taking advantage of Kenya's position as the regional communications hub.

[kenyan24]

Kenya: Agriculture Drives Economy to New Hight




East African Standard (Nairobi)

1 August 2007
Posted to the web 31 July 2007

Washington Gikunju
Nairobi

Boosted by positive growth in agriculture, manufacturing, hotels and restaurants, transport and communication and financial sectors; the economy has registered a 6.3 per cent growth for the first quarter ended March 31.

This is compared to a 4.1 per cent increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in a corresponding period last year.


The unprecedented quarterly economic survey, released yesterday, puts Kenya at par with South Africa as the only sub-Sahara African countries that have adopted the internationally recommended Quarterly National Accounts (QNA) system of economic performance survey.

The figures generally show an economy firmly on the growth trajectory except for the coffee sub-sector, which recorded a negative production growth of 5.9 per cent from 17.6 metric tonnes (MT) in the first quarter last year to 16.6 MT this year.

Presenting the economic survey on Tuesday, Planning and National Development minister, Mr Henry Obwocha, said the move to QNA is part of the country's migration process to the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) recommended Special Data Dissemination Standards (SDDS).

"Kenya is currently subscribed to IMF's General Data Dissemination Standards (GDDS) and hopes to graduate to the more rigorous SDDS of which QNA is one of the prescribed data requirements," said Obwocha.

While expressing displeasure with the negative growth in the coffee sub-sector despite a total Government assistance package of about Sh6 billion in the last two years, Obwocha however, noted that the industry was likely to record positive growth next year given its turnaround time estimated at about three years.







The agriculture sector recovered from the drought experienced in the first quarter of last year to record an overall growth of 12 per cent up from 0.3 per cent in a similar period last year.

Tea production went up by 119.7 per cent to 108.7 MT in the period, horticulture exports rose by 0.3 per cent to 44.5 MT while milk production improved from 75 million litres to 108m litres.

The manufacturing sector grew by 7.4 per cent compared to 7.1 per cent in the first quarter of last year.

[Matthias Offodile]

During my search, I stumbled over this. Great news for Kenya

Kenya economy expected to grow by 7%

2007-07-31 15:42:15

APA-Nairobi (Kenya) Kenya is expected to achieve a 7% Gross Domestic Product growth rate this year, Planning Minister Henry Obwocha said on Tuesday.

Obwocha said the growth is due to demand for goods from Kenya from the regional market.

Speaking in Nairobi while releasing the first quarterly GDP estimates, the minister however warned that fluctuations in global prices of fuel could undermine the expected economic growth.

“Demand for goods from Kenya by the regional market is expected to further boost economic growth in the country but this could be undermined by fluctuations in global oil prices of fuel,” he said.

He said agriculture, manufacturing, tourism, finance, transport and communication sectors have continued to provide the needed momentum in economic growth in Kenya.

[ernestombayo7]

Nairobi plans Africa’s first seven star hotel

Only days after its ISO 9001/2000 certification, Kenyatta International Conference Centre Corporation, the parastatal that manages the conference centre, is planning to construct a Shs 17 billion complex to tap into the ever growing international conference hosting.

The complex expected to be completed in three years’ time will be modelled along Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur International Conference centre will house Africa’s first seven star hotel complete with 220 VIP suites 20 of which will be presidential suites in internationally recognised and certified standards.

If approved, work on the site could begin as early as next year once the ongoing shs 1.2 billion rehabilitation programme on KICC is completed. The current phase of the rehabilitation is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Philip Kisia, KICC Managing Director, revealed that the corporation had already submitted the plans to the Ministry of tourism, treasury and office of the president for approval.

“It will be a complex,” Kisia said, “complete with several shopping malls, bars and restaurants, cinema halls, duty free shopping complexes, hotels, car rentals, health clubs, curio shops, salons and barber shops, churches, mosques and other prayer centres…a complex providing anything and everything anybody can dream of in terms of needs.”

It is expected that once complete, the complex will transform KICC into a city within a city in the same lines as the Sandton Conference Centre in South Africa or Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.

Kisia says: “The reason why the government and KICC board of directors are committed to this project is because modern conferencing is expanding very rapidly going beyond the capacities of the conferencing facilities which were constructed even in the 1980s through the 1990s because they are very limiting in the fast emerging scenario, yet it is extremely lucrative.”

The conference centre was built in late 1960’s but it opened its doors as a meeting facility in 1970s after it was officially opened in September 1973 by the late President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta.

It is estimated that when the convention centre is completed, it will increase the revenue generated by the center as a state corporation from shs 250 million to shs 2.3 billion annually. In the last two years, KICC has increased its turnover by 250 percent.

“The revenue generated to the national economy by the conference center annually is expected to be upwards of Shs 25 billion while employing more than 500 people on a permanent basis. Not to mention the huge number of business opportunities expected to be generated,” said Kisia.

According to the plans drawn by the KICC board, the convention centre is expected to have underground tunnels connecting its complex which will also house some shops to enable those strolling around the centre to do their shopping.

Parking facilities will also be underground, while the helipad on top of the KICC main twenty-eight floor structure is being revived to begin handling helicopter landings. Helicopters will be used to provide shuttle services for visitors from the airports to the convention center and other destinations.

The plans document possibilities of constructing a cable car network that will ferry passengers from the convention center to various parts of the city above the Nairobi skyline at a fee.

The convention center according to the plans, will occupy the area from Garden Square restaurant, all the way to Sheria House, Public Service Commission (PSC) headquarters and the Comesa grounds across parliament road part of which is currently being used as a public pay car park and open grounds for exhibitions and other activities.

The KICC boss says the ambitious plans for the convention are aimed at positioning Kenya to compete effectively in international conference tourism that has traditionally been a preserve for European and American countries.

In the recent years, Asian countries have emerged as competitors in preferred destination for conference tourism.

“Once the convention centre is complete,” Kisia said, “our only competitors will be South Africa and Egypt, but we are determined to dominate this market in the entire East African region, and the Comesa trading block because we have the capacity and the widest range of attractions to offer than any of our competitors.”

[Kisumu Ndogo]

Keep following on that ernestombayo7

[ernestombayo7]

Kenya Strikes Coal

Kenya is on the verge of striking commercial coal reserves, which could change its energy security situation as it strives to bridge a widening electricity supply gap.

Coal deposits have been found in 11 out of 20 wells drilled so far in sections of Kitui and Makueni districts, a Ministry of Energy report shows.

The wells are spread over an area of 20 square kilometres, part of a 400 square kilometre area targeted for prospecting.

Coal samples from the area that were analysed in South Africa have returned a positive assessment, with its quality being classified as comparable or better than that found in South Africa.

The ministry has invited independent consultants to do a feasibility study on the deposits. Tenders towards that end were advertised on Monday last week. Coal prospecting is now concentrated within the Mui and Yoonge areas although it will eventually expand to other areas. The whole area under target stretches about 80 kilometres with a width of about five kilometres.

The area is within a zone known as Permo-Triassic, a mineral rich zone that extends from South Africa through to Somalia.

The 11 wells have confirmed coal deposits ranging from 1.88 to 12 metres in coal seam (thickness). The depth ranges between 75 and 320 meters. The analysis found that it had almost equal calorific value with South Africa’s, its ash content was lower, meaning it has less foreign matter. It was also found to be more volatile, with less fixed carbons.

But it has more moisture and sulphur content. However, higher sulphur content is seen as an added advantage because it can be used in other industrial processes.

Most local coal is used by cement manufacturers and is mainly imported from South Africa. Bamburi Cement, the country’s largest cement maker, uses over 150,000 tonnes of coal every year, mainly from South Africa.

In South Africa, electricity is four times cheaper than Kenya’s. But Kenya seems to have decided to shift gears based on Ministry of Energy projections for electricity investment in the next 20 years.

The plan indicates that Sh133 billion will be invested in coal projects to generate additional 1,000 megawatts or about 20 per cent of the national electricity needs. By then, Kenya will have electricity generation capacity of 4,871 megawatts against a demand of 4,620 megawatts - a reserve of five per cent.

Current capacity stands at 1,045 megawatts (until October when it will be 1,105megawatts) against a peak demand of 1,082 megawatts creating a reserve margin of minus four per cent.

Kenya’s situation is such that 67 per cent of total power is generated from hydro sources, 10 per cent from geo-thermal and 23 per cent from thermal which is price sensitive to fluctuating international fuel prices. One advantage of coal is that it is readily available as long as reserves last and are therefore not affected by weather patterns.

According to Mr Stephen Mutimba, the Director of Energy for Sustainable Development Africa, an energy management consultancy group, the discovery is opportune for the country as it needs a lot of energy to push the vision 2030 development agenda. However, there have been fears over polluting attributes of coal mining.

“Our carbon emissions are low unlike in other countries like in Europe where they are closing their coal mines in favour of renewable energy because their carbon emissions are already very high,” said Mr Mutimba.

Coal is also used to increase heating of iron and steel making furnaces, heat cement making kilns, making of zinc batteries and as a liquid fuel. According to the World Coal Institute, coal fuels 40 per cent of the world’s electricity.

The institute forecasts that coal will continue to play a key role in the world’s energy mix, because if rising demand for electricity and the need for steel in construction, car production, and demands for household appliances.

The institute says proven coal reserves could last for the next 155 years, compared to oil and gas reserves which can last for between 41 to 65 years at current production levels.

[ernestombayo7]

German Hotel Chain Eyes Kenyan Market

Source:Business Daily Africa

An international hotel chain from Germany wants to set up resorts in Kenya as the sector reaps great returns from the growing tourism market.

Kenya has been identified as one of the countries that will add value to the portfolio of the chain known as Kempinski Hotels Worldwide, portfolio. Tanzania and Namibia have also been identified in the company’s strategy to open five new hotels in Africa by 2009.

Speaking in Dar es Salaam, the group’s chief executive officer, Mr Reto Wittwer, said the group was in talks with other parties to open its first facility in Kenya. “We are in talks with local hotel investors in Kenya to establish the first trophy hotel in the country,” he said. The company usually prefers entering into management contracts for existing facilities.

Kenya Tourist Board (KTB) managing director, Dr Ongong’a Achieng, said the chain was among others that had expressed interest in establishing properties in the destination. Others eyeing the market are Accor Hotels and Prime Properties. “The entry of these chains will raise the profile of the destination and the value of tourists coming into the country,” Dr Achieng’ said.

Growth in tourist numbers has spawned a shortage in bed capacity, with the country only having 40,000 classified beds. “Without any new investments we will face an acute shortage and fail to meet the growing demand,” added Dr Achieng’. Last year the sector rose to be the highest foreign exchange earner for the country with Sh 52 billion, according to the recently released half year results by KTB.

The sector is on its way to meeting its Sh62 billion target for this year, having earned Sh34 billion during this period. Recently, a South African company, Prime Properties, was in town scouting for hotels they could partner with.

The company is looking at upgrading existing facilities by injecting capital into the units. According to the Kenya Investment Authority, Sh 564 million is expected to be put into the tourism sector by three companies who are set to increase the destinations bed capacity.

Africa Mission Safaris Ltd and Karen Blixen are expected to put up camps, while Placid View Properties will put up a hotel to the tune of Sh 450 million.

Kempinski is one of the oldest hotel chains in Europe, having celebrated it 110th birthday this year. It is in talks with hotels in Nairobi. The company says it is seeking a management contract or a hotel to take over. But they could not reveal how much they plan to invest as the negotiations are at a delicate stage.

“We have not concluded anything yet and a deal is not a deal until it is a signed contract,”said Mr Witter.

In Namibia, the chain is looking at opening four hotels in four towns with the main one in the capital city, Windhoek. They are in the final stages of concluding a deal with the government of Tanzania to establish its first tourist lodge in the Serengeti Nature Reserve by the end of 2008.

Currently the chain has two hotels in Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar, Chad and Djibouti.

[ernestombayo7]

Kenya Tourism: Demand outstrips supply in the Mara

Source:Business Daily Africa

Demand for beds is outstripping supply at the Maasai Mara Game Reserve as tourists flock there to witness the Seventh Wonder of the World —the annual wildebeeste migration.

Tour companies are advising their clients on alternative tourist destinations such as the Amboseli and Samburu National Park as they hold them on waiting lists.
Most of the hotels are booked all the way to October. “We have some guests who made their bookings as early as last year. Those coming at the last minute cannot find a room,” a tours manager at Bunson Travel, Ms Trupti Shah, said.

According to her, the event has attracted both international and domestic interest as Kenyans seek to savour the treasures in their country. “They are, however, yet to change their booking habits as they leave it to the last minute.”

The high demand has been driven by the annual wildebeest migration that American broadcaster ABC declared last year as one of the new wonders of the world which runs from July until September.

According to a bed capacity audit carried out earlier in the year by the Kenya Association of Tour Operators (KATO), the Mara ecosystem has about 3,700 permanent beds.

These can be found within the park, lodges outside the main reserve and the conservancies.

Mara Simba and Keekorock have the highest capacity in the ecosystem with 101 beds each while Serena Mara and Sarova each have 75 beds according to KATO.

In addition to these are the temporary camps set up on demand in the reserve and the surrounding areas, and which offer back packers an opportunity to experience the reserve at an affordable rate.

With more visitors packing and heading to the reserve, no new camps or lodges can be built since the government put out a ban last year.

However industry players have argued that constructing new lodges and camps might not be the solution because of environment considerations, saying the demand from visitors can be managed by branding the reserve as an exotic or premium park.

“The reserve has much to offer if lodges could upgrade their facilities and charge a premium on them to attract high end tourists,” the chairman of KATO, Mr Duncan Muriuki, said.

Lodges within the reserve have been re-investing their earnings with Mara Safari Club being the latest to reopen after refurbishing their tents and dinning area.

The Mara opened its doors in 1974 and is managed by the Narok County Council though a part of the reserve falls under the Transmara county council.
Over the years there have been cases of mismanagement especially by the council.

This was clearly realised late last year when tourists were stranded in the reserve due to the poor conditions of the roads which were worsened by the heavy rains.

Following the fiasco the Government stepped in and work on the road has been on going, though not complete seven months down the year.

However the Government has been able to ensure the council commits up to 25 per cent of its revenue to maintaining the conditions of the road.

According to Mr Muriuki there has been improvements within the park as the council is now working on the once impassable roads. But the one leading to Sekanani gate from Narok is still poor.

The wildebeest, might not be in town yet but the other species that accompany them such as the Zebras have already been cited an indication the main attraction will soon be crossing the Mara river.

In addition, guests can be sure to enjoy species diversity and enthusiastic bird watchers have an opportunity to spot various species.

[chui]

U.S. business group assures Kenya of US$2bn American investment

http://www.afriquenligne.fr/news/daily_news/u.s._business_group_assures_kenya_of_us$2bn_american_investment_200708054949/

Nairobi (Kenya) An official of the U.S.-based Whitaker Group that seeks to promote trade between Africa and America said the instituion will help Kenya to receive the two billion dollars from the American government’s Investment Fund for Africa, sources told APA here.

The Group’s Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Rosa Whitaker, made the assurance on Saturday when she paid a courtesy call on Kenyan president Mwai Kibaki in Nairobi, a presidential statement said here.

She promised that the institution will also assist Kenya farmers to directly sell their flowers and other horticultural products in the United States.

Furthermore, she revealed that the Group has also created a partnership with U.S. companies to invest in Kenya’s agricultural sector.

Ms. Whitaker and President Kibaki also discussed ways of promoting trade and investment between Kenya and the U.S. in the interest of Kenyans.

JK/tjm/APA

2007-08-05

African Press Agency

[ernestombayo7]

Another investor Guys!


Panasonic opens Nairobi office

Source:Nation Media daily
issue: August 10/07

Electronics manufacturer, Panasonic, has opened a branch in Kenya, as it prepares to launch a battle to capture market share from the likes of Sony, Samsung, LG and JVC.

The five brands dominate the top tier market for high definition televisions (HDTVs) and video cameras.

Panasonic’s new offices at International Life House in the City will distribute the firm’s entire range of electronic household gadgets, although it seeks to initially promote its newer entrants, including a 103-inch plasma display television, home theatres and video cameras. “Recent consumer buying behaviour and our market research suggests that Kenya is going to be a key market for us in the coming years,” said the company’s managing director for the Gulf and Middle East, Mr Seiji Koyanagi.

The company is still drawing up its relaunch programme, but promised to establishing an efficient distribution network to ensure its products are available across the country.

However, it says counterfeits are its biggest challenge. “Safety of customers is at risk due to lack of awareness between genuine and fake products,” said the managing director.

[ewangai]

one way or another we will get there. What i like about all this stories is that they are diversifying our economy. Hope we will meet all the 2030 goals sooner than expected

[African Lion]

any pics of the 7 star hotel.

[Kenguy]

Originally Posted by African Lion

any pics of the 7 star hotel.

image hosted on flickr


Its none other than Nairobis most famous landmark. I think they will change its use from offices to hotel rooms. They also want to re-open the rotating restaurant at the top of the tower for a 360 degree view of Nairobi and beyond. (I gather that on a clear day, you can also spot Mt. Kilimanjaro from the building.)

[ernestombayo7]

Chinese firm to invest Sh9b in Kenyan solar power plant

17-August-2007: A Chinese company has entered into a Sh9 billion partnership with a Kenyan firm to build the first solar panel factory in East Africa.

The move is expected to reposition solar as a key source of energy in Kenya by making it more affordable to millions of consumers who depend on the national electricity grid for their energy needs.

It is estimated that the Beijing Tianpu Xianxing Enterprises and Electrogen Technologies venture could see the prices of solar panels drop by up to 65 per cent.

Manufacture of solar panels is expected to open a lucrative market for scrap metal merchants who have been fighting bruising battles with Chinese experts in the past three years by boosting demand for hydraulic batteries.

Construction of the facility is set to start in October for completion in March 2008.

“There is a huge market for solar panels in this market. Currently the near monopoly in the market means consumers pay more than they should. We see prices dropping to a third of what they are currently,” said Mr Michael Munyao, the executive director of Electrogen Technologies.

The project will be implemented through Pan African Technologies, a jointly owned company in which Beijing Tianpu has a 70 per cent interest and will raise $100 million (Sh7 billion) from internal resources.

Its local partner is expected take up the remaining fraction of the financing plan in cash and kind, including $40 million (Sh2.8 billion) in cash and three acres of land along Nairobi’s Mombasa Road where the factory is to be erected by a local company of Chinese origin.

Once built, the factory will source the materials required locally and employ a minimum of 100 Chinese trained staff.
“Because they will be locally manufactured, Pan-African’s products will cost less than the currently available imported options, with a typical system retailing for Sh5,000 rather than Sh20,000,” said Mr Munyao.

Pan African is eyeing Sudan as a key market and wants to interest the government in a partnership to provide solar panelling for its planned upgrade of slums in Kibera.

Demand for energy is expected to triple in the next thirty years with alternative energy anticipated to cover the gap. Solar energy is emerging as an investment opportunity globally and its use is projected to grow by 40 per cent for next five years.

Earnings are seen rising from $7.7 billion this year to $11 billion by 2011.

Despite the global interest in solar power, Kenyan firms have seen profit decline due to the high cost of importing foreign products. “This market is highly competitive.

Changing fortunes have seen many firms shut down in the last few years,” said Margaret Mutia, the deputy managing director of Solagen, a locally owned solar panel importer.

According to the Ministry of Energy, Kenya receives around 3,000 million free megawatts of power from the sun every day.

Experts says if just 10 per cent of that figure was converted to power on the national grid, the country would be oversupplied with electricity by over 25 times.
Despite its ability to provide 25 times more power to the national grid, solar power is yet to find flavour with Kenyan consumers.

Industry players say the introduction of the government’s rural electrification programme is already posing a potential threat to the continued existence of smaller solar energy suppliers.

This year alone, the government will spend Sh8 billion in over 1,000 rural electrification projects around the country, meaning consumers that would normally be targeted by solar power firms now have the option of connecting to the national grid easily.

“Before the programme the sector was confident of continued growth from rural customers because it was so expensive to access electricity and supply was usually inaccessible,” said Ms Mutia.

High demand for electricity compelled several foreign solar power firms to invest in the country during the last decade. Now just a handful are still operational, with wary international partners pulling out of the market in the last few months.

In the late 1990s solar power companies could expect to sell 20,000 units in a year, with a comfortable growth rate of 30 per year. Now firms say they are registering drastic reductions in sales, with a 40 per cent drop experienced last year.

Just over 100,000 rural Kenyan families rely on solar energy to generate electricity in their homes. The majority of these families use smaller power units that typically can power one television and four light sources which are sold for over Sh20,000.

The change in fortunes has not been bad for all solar power companies. Chloride Exide is benefitting from a Sh300 million government programme to install solar electricity converters in secondary schools in arid and semi-arid lands in North Eastern, Eastern, Rift Valley and Coast Provinces.

The 44 year old power company has successfully provided power solutions to over 30 schools through the program. “Installation is currently ongoing. The tender was awarded after a competitive bidding process and is sponsored by the Ministry of Energy,” said the company in a statement.

Chloride Exide recently shifted from providing batteries to renewable energy solutions, diversification which Solagen believes will save it and other firms from perishing in a shrinking market.

The smaller firms are seeing increased sales of water heating implements to urban consumers who can enjoy savings of up to 60 per cent on power bills.

Around the world, solar power is slowly gaining recognition as a reliable and cheap form of energy. Internet firm Google recently implemented the world’s largest corporate solar installation, installing 9,212 solar panels to gain 1,600 kilowatts to power the firms offices.

In the last 24 hours, Google produced 5,286 kilowatt-hours of electricity from the sun, which is enough to run 11,276 hair-dryers at the same time.

[SE9]

Flavio Briatore and Naomi Campbell plan Sh1.5bn Malindi hotel

Story by NATION Correspondent
Publication Date: 8/21/2007

Formula One boss and Italian billionaire Mr Flavio Briatore and his business partner British supermodel Ms Naomi Campbell have unveiled grand plans to invest billions of shillings in the tourist resort of Malindi.

Dr Pierino Liana, the East and Central Africa and the Middle East representative of the Lion Group, which is owned by Mr Biatore, said yesterday that the two investors were set to build a top class hotel called The Billioneres Resort in Malindi.

“The six star hotel would be built where the closed Jambo Village hotel was situated in the upmarket Casuarina area. Its construction alone will cost at least Sh500 million,” said Dr Liana yesterday. Building and equipping the hotel would cost over Sh1.5 billion.

According to documents, the exclusive hotel would target the famous names around the world, including some of the richest people, to Malindi.

“We would like to construct a five or six star hotel targeting the top men of the world in Malindi,” said Ms Campbell in her first ever interview with local journalists last Friday since she began the latest of her annual visits to Kenya.

She said they also planned to invest in other areas, apart from bringing in the very rich of the world to Malindi. Among these is establishing a modelling school for Kenyan girls.

[Kenguy]

Materials factory planned --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: The Standard
Last Updated on August 23, 2007, 12:00 am
By Morton Saulo

Kenya and Malaysia have embarked on a $ 12 million (Sh840 million) plan to put up a factory to manufacture building materials.

The factory will avail building materials targeting cutting the time spent on construction.

Speaking after receiving a Malaysian delegation on Wednesday, Housing minister, Mr Soita Shitanda, said it takes three years for the Government to develop 600 units, but this would now be significantly reduced. Currently, more than 120,000 civil servants require houses.

"We are at the initial stages of establishing a factory that will produce materials to roll out houses efficiently and timely," Shitanda said.

To be built at Mlolongo area near Nairobi, the factory will help change the construction industry in the neighboring countries.

Malaysian works minister, Mr Dato Seri, said construction of the factory requires 50 acres of land for the drying and storage of building materials.

He urged the Government to present for a housing zone map to enable the construction of the factory in a centralised location.

The minister said a technical committee comprising experts from the public, private and the Malaysian government will oversee its construction.

The National Housing Corporation (NHC) will manage the factory on completion, he said.

[Kenguy]

Multi-billion shilling Tarda investment plan is unveiled
--------------------------------------------------
Source: The standard
By Tom Mogusu

The Government has announced a multi-billion shilling master plan that will open the Tana and Athi River areas for tourism investments.

The plan will be rolled out by the Tana & Athi River Development Authority (Tarda) and is expected to take 14 years to complete at a cost of Sh9.6 billion.

Tarda acting Managing Director, Mr Samuel Marima, announced yesterday that the plan, once implemented, would double the number of tourists arriving into the country from last year’s 1.5 million over the master plan’s implementation period.

‘‘It is anticipated that about 65 per cent of the investment costs will be borne by the private sector through investment in hotels and other related facilities,’’ Marima told a stakeholders workshop in Nairobi.

The public sector will contribute 35 per cent of the plan through investment in infrastructure such as roads, airstrips among other amenities.

The public sector’s funds will also go towards supporting community based eco-tourism ventures.

The Permanent Secretary for Tourism and Wildlife, Mrs Rebecca Nabutola, told participants that the tourism master plan would play a bigger role in positioning the area as a key tourism destination.

‘‘This is going to be one of the most exciting places to visit once the project is completed and the entire region is opened up for more tourists,’’ she said.

‘‘It will also diversify Kenya’s tourism product away from the beaches and wildlife.’’

At its full implementation, Tarda estimates that some 300,000 direct and indirect job opportunities would be created.

So far, the area has attracted interest from Mumias Sugar Company (MSC), which is planning to put up a multi billion sugar factory.

If implemented, the factory will make use of the area’s rich soil to grow sugar cane.

Marima explained that the tourism master plan should play a bigger role in the government’s plan to open up the Tana River area for tourism.

However, Marima said the project’s success would require the support of stakeholders such as the Tourism Trust Fund and the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB).

Last year, the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) was allocated Sh700 million to market Kenya as a top tourist destination.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[chui]

Nairobi cafes buzzing as real coffee finally comes home


Xan Rice in Nairobi
Friday August 3, 2007
The Guardian

Time was, not so long ago, that if you wanted to buy a cup of quality Kenyan coffee your best bet was a coffee shop in the US or Europe. In Nairobi, where coffee bushes grow wild in the suburbs, people wanting a shot of caffeine made do with instant granules from a tin.

No more. Plush coffee bars are springing up all over the capital, serving home-grown lattes and cappuccinos to young, status-driven Kenyans breaking from the country's tea-drinking past. Where there were no proper coffee shops in 1999, there are now more than 20. In the gritty city centre alone, Java House, the best-known chain, serves 1,500 cups of premium coffee a day.

"Sometimes you need a real kick in the morning," said Wambui Mburu, 25, a stockbroker, drinking a cafe mocha before work. "That it comes from our back yard makes it even better."

A few years ago, nobody could have predicted the coffee shops' success. Though coffee has been grown in Kenya for more than a century, virtually all used to be exported. To guarantee the flow of foreign exchange, farmers were prohibited from harvesting and roasting beans for local consumption. Solomon Waweru, managing director of the Coffee Board of Kenya, said this meant that even coffee pickers would take a flask of tea with them into the fields.

Not only was there no coffee drinking culture, but the economy was foundering when Java opened its first outlet in a rundown shopping centre in Nairobi in 1999.

"People thought we were crazy to try to sell coffee to Kenyans," said Jon Wagner, an American former relief worker who co-founded the company eight years ago, and has seen revenues grow every quarter since. "It was virgin territory but we believed a good cup of coffee would always find a market."

While Java's stores initially proved a hit with expatriates, more than 70% of customers are now Kenyans, mostly under 40. With seven outlets, some offering wireless internet, the company plans to list on the stock exchange and open branches in Uganda and Tanzania.

Java's success has inspired other Kenyan companies to enter the field. C Dorman, a coffee exporter, has opened 10 shops in the capital since 2003 and recently opened a store in the port city of Mombasa. Sasini, a leading tea and coffee producer, is about to open its first retail store in an upmarket mall.

The growth of the coffee culture has coincided with an upswing in the economy. Many coffee shop customers are the same people targeted to buy Blackberry devices by the two mobile phone operators, and to read the new pink Business Daily newspaper.

For some, the atmosphere and exclusivity of the coffee house is as important as the beverage. "People who come here are serious people who are building the country," said Charles Maitho, 32, an insurance broker sitting in a buzzing downtown Java decorated with original art. "This is no place for idlers."