The Ministry of Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs through the State Department of Mining has kicked out an Italian investor who was given a tender to establish a multimillion granite factory in Vihiga county.
Through a notice shared by Vihiga Governor Wilber Ottichilo, the mining ministry is now inviting new bidders to set up the granite plant.
The Italian investor had been given the tender in 2021 by former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration.
“The Ministry invites expression of interest from qualified bidders to establish a Granite Processing Plant in Vihiga County, Kenya. The identified investor will undertake granite mining to provide inputs to the Processing Plant,” the new tender invite read in part.
According to Ottichilo, the proposed plant will be set up in Emuhaya Sub County, Bunyore West Ward.
This is the same location where the previous investor had been given land to set up the granite plant and had already fenced the land.
Vihiga County and the National Government did not give an explanation as to why the tender of the previous company had been cancelled.
In the new tender floated, the winning investor will build, operate and transfer the processing plant to the government following the expiry of the agreed timeline.
To incentivise new investors, the government announced that it would facilitate the acquisition of requisite authorisations and licences for granite mining in close proximity to the established plant.
The investor will also reap billions from the granite plant as the government will encourage the use of the processed granite slabs in all public construction projects
In the previous contract, the government had picked the Italian investor following an international expression of interest that had been floated by the Ministry of Petroleum and Mining.
The new investor must demonstrate a capability to raise funds sufficient for the investment with balance sheets audited by a reputable firm for the last 3 years as well as have at least three years of experience in mining, mineral processing or value addition.
The new development was made just a week after President William Ruto toured the region to launch various industrial and infrastructural developments.
