Galana Kulalu springs to life as investments, infrastructure drive long-awaited revival

After 19 years of false starts, the Galana Kulalu Food Security project in Kilifi and Tana River is taking shape with private firms investing millions of shillings in agribusinesses in the area. 

So far the project has created more than 5,000 direct and indirect jobs, as the government rushes to complete the piloting programme on 20,000 acres of land. 

Launched in 2013 by President Uhuru Kenyatta, the project had been facing problems ranging from corruption allegations, inadequate water supply, drought and lack of crucial infrastructure like dams, water reservoirs, electricity, proper roads and bridges. 

Selu Limited, under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) programme with 40,500 acres, has only developed less than 4,000 acres due to a lack of enabling infrastructure.

Selu Limited CEO Nicholas Amanya, said that they are currently planting maize to cushion the country against maize seed imports. 

“As Selu, we came in and conducted a feasibility study to identify gaps and bottlenecks that existed that could affect the implementation of this project in full, and among the aspects we identified was energy because we needed power, and the government is currently addressing that issue by bringing in the grid because a lack of it is an impediment for our continuous expansion,” Amanya said. 

“In the first phase of this project, we grew maize seed to reduce the importation of seed outside Kenya so that we could make it available and affordable to Kenyans,” he added. 

He noted that the firm was using 5,000 litres of diesel fuel every day, which was unsustainable and very costly.

But the tide has changed with the national government investing billions of shillings to set up enabling infrastructure that will attract investors. 

The Galana Bridge, a key project to transport farm inputs and produce from the farm, is 98 per cent complete. "The bridge is a game changer in this project,” said Amanya. 

Currently, he said, they were using water directly from the river, which had turned out to be an expensive exercise since they have to use generators to pump the water. 

“The cost of running the irrigation system using diesel is more than twice the cost of using the grid and even three times more if we are doing a combination between the grid and solar, and so addressing those issues will reduce our operation costs and make the project sustainable,” he added. 

He noted that "abstracting water from the river can only be done for about 6,300 acres only, and for us to reach our target of 20,000 acres, we need additional water."

The government plans to construct a mega dam within the Tsavo National Park that will hold up to 306 million cubic metres of water at any single time and over a billion cubic metres annually.

“The dam once complete will enable us to expand beyond the 6,300 acres to 20,000 acres and eventually to 40,000 acres," he said.

Amanya said that Selu employs more than 700 people daily to work on its various projects at the farm and with additional acres under the project, the number will go up. 

“During this first phase, we have employed an average of 700 people on a daily basis as part of the benefits this project has brought to the community, and we are working with the local community also to improve other social amenities like water, education, and medical, among other Community Social Responsibilities (CSR),” he added. 

Nyumba Foundation, a subsidiary of Mombasa Cement, has also secured 52,000 acres and is laying its own enabling infrastructure, such as dams and solar power, and has employed more than 3,000 people directly with a gravity water canal from river Galana stretching 50km done with 14 dams at intervals of three kilometres. 

A notable stride is the Sh2.9 billion Galana Kulalu Electrification project, which is at 40 per cent complete and will provide enough electricity for firms investing in the area. 

Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation (REREC) Power Distribution and Energy Coordination General Manager James Muriuki said that, once complete, the electrification project will help investors save money they use to mechanise their farms since they will no longer need diesel to pump water. 

“Lot 1 is being implemented at Sh1.2 billion; then we have lot 2, which is a 27-kilometre length of 66KV line at a cost of Sh. 250 million; then we have lot 3, which is also a span of 27-kilometre 66KV line, and we also have a section in that lot where we are also putting up four towers because we’re crossing the river, and it will cost around Sh. 380 million, and the last lot is lot 4, where we are putting up a 2 by 23 MVN 66/33 KV substation and a metering station,” he said. 

Also, the construction of the Sh1.49 billion Galana Bridge will help ease the transportation of farm machinery and produce across the Galana River, and Kenya Rural Roads Authority Director General Jackson Magondu, said that the works were at 97 per cent complete. 

“The second bridge has been done at Sh. 1.49 billion, including 17 kilometres of road network which we target to complete by June this year for usability and the road network by September for the entire project to be able to serve the irrigation scheme well,” he said. 

“We also have the road from Salagate to Malindi intended to provide the main haulage. After we cross the produce from the Baricho and Galana bridges, now the 110 kilometres make the produce join the Malindi-Mombasa highway.” 

Magondu revealed that there are plans to construct a link road from Salagate through the Tsavo East National Park to join the Mombasa-Nairobi highway, hence reducing the travelling distance for investors bringing their farm needs from Nairobi and up-country places. 

“There is a plan to avoid congestion on the Malindi-Mombasa highway to have other arteries that will serve Galana Kulalu. We have the Baolala-Jaribuni-Kaloleni road towards Mackinon, and also there is a planned construction of a road along the Tsavo National Park on either side of the river from Mackinon to Salagate so that we avoid congesting the Malindi-Mombasa highway and the Malindi-Salagate road so that we can separate the heavy traffic from the farm and normal traffic,” he said. 

During a tour of the project recently, the government multi-agency team led by Coast Regional Commissioner Rhoda Onyancha and head of Government Delivery Unit (GDU) Olando Sitati, the government noted that several projects were lagging behind schedule and urged contractors to accelerate completion. 

Particular concern was raised over the Sh2.9 billion Galana Kulalu Electrification project, which is significantly delayed, where the contractor was instructed to expedite works, with a stern warning that no further extensions of the contract would be granted. 

“We have agreed on the way forward regarding the bottlenecks we witnessed, and I am confident that when we return in two months, the projects will be much further along and nearing completion,” said Onyancha. 

Olando asked government agencies involved in the project to work in collaboration under regional and county commissioners in order to move forward. 

He, however, told contractors to expedite their works, warning that the government would not extend their contracts. 

Sitati commended the contractors for doing a good job with the Sh1.4 billion Galala-Kulalu bridge at 96 per cent complete, while the Sh. 2.9 billion electrification project is at 41 per cent progression. 

“For those contractors who are not diligent, we continue to remind them that we shall continue pressuring the government agencies to push them to complete their works or lose their contracts,” he said. 

He said that the government had identified investors who would start projects on the Tana River side of the project. 

“This project started in Kilifi County, but we have identified investors who will open up at least 100,000 acres towards the Tana River side,” said Olando. 

Masini Ichuara, the director general for economic planning, said there was a need to move from outputs to outcomes in the implementation of the food security project as the government implements Vision 2030 and the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda of the current regime.