Construction of a modern abattoir at Athi River will now be taken by a South African firm after they won the tender bid. Kenya Meat Commission (KMC) in conjunction with the Kenyan Government is planning to construct a modern abattoir in Athi River at a cost of US$ 11m to boost the economic status of the sector according to Agriculture Cabinet Secretary, Felix Koskei. Koskei said this would be cheaper than $33 million (Sh3 billion), the cost of renovating the current facility.
“Two people were interested in the modernisation. They quoted US$ 30m and US$ 33m. Five showed interest in constructing a new factory and the lowest, a South African firm, bid US$ 11m. The KMC management did the right thing and awarded the contract to the lowest bidder,” the minister said without giving details on the contractor.
Of the Sh700 million previously allocated to renovation of the current facility, Sh200 million has not been spent and will go towards building the new modern abattoir. The CS further said that the meat factory, which will be located in Athi River will be complete in the next nine months but this will only be after the signing of the contract which is expected to be finalized soon.
Currently, four slaughter houses are being worked on in Isiolo, Wajir, Garissa and West Pokot counties by the government, and this will act as a huge benefit for meat exportation purposes. This is in accordance with the economic stimulus programme.
After closing down for a period of almost 15 years, KMC resumed operations in 2006 since the government acknowledged its potential to contribute to the nation’s economic development. The government has injected a lot of money to the meat processing plant, including National Bank’s Sh. 5.2 billion.
