Nakuru County governor, Susan Kihika, has asked President William Ruto to fast-track the construction of the Naivasha Industrial Park after he reverted port operations to Mombasa.
Kihika who spoke in a press briefer on Tuesday in Nakuru Town, September 19, noted that she will accept the decision made by Ruto since it was in the interest of serving the plight of the majority of Kenyans.
Nonetheless, she wished that the status quo was maintained noting that the Naivasha Inland Port would have been part of her transformative agenda as the governor.
“Obviously we would have wanted for things to stay as they were but given that he was given an overwhelming mandate to be the president of the Republic of Kenya, in as much as I am asking him for support on my agenda, let him do what is best for our country," Governor Kihika noted.
"However. I have spoken with the president on that issue and he promised that he will give us the necessary help to ensure that our dream of having a functional economic zone is realised," she added.
The presser was Kihika's first time to address the fate of Naivasha Inland Container Depot.
Whilst the decision was welcomed by a section of leaders from the coastal city of Mombasa, workers and businesses around the inland container depot were projected to be affected by the shift.
Ruto had in his campaigns promised to revert clearing and forwarding services to the Port of Mombasa after locals lamented that employment opportunities in the county were scarce.
The President defended his decision clarifying that the extension of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) was to develop an industrial city in Naivasha and exploit the resources in the region.
"We were supposed to do an industrial city so that the SGR would not only bring raw materials but would also take out finished products.
"It did not end up in Naivasha for no reason, we wanted to tap into the geothermal resources in Naivasha," Ruto stated during a town hall session in June 2022.
