Ruto Signs Expansion Deal For Galana-Kulalu Project With UAE Investors
Kenya has reached an agreement with Abu Dhabi’s Al Dahra agriculture company to expand the Galana-Kulalu irrigation project.
On Wednesday, President William Ruto witnessed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding at State House in Nairobi.
“Irrigation is a key pillar of our food security value chain. Our plan is to ensure increased agricultural production and productivity to feed the nation,” the President said.
The Galana Kulalu Food Security Project is located in the coastal region of Kilifi and Tana River counties.
The government’s $52,670,000 (Sh6.79 billion) project in conjunction with the private sector is supposed to put an end to Kenya’s persistent maize crisis.
Irrigation is a key pillar of our food security value chain. Our plan is to ensure increased agricultural production and productivity to feed the nation.
— William Samoei Ruto, PhD (@WilliamsRuto) February 12, 2025
We are building on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between Kenya and the United Arab Emirates to initiate… pic.twitter.com/frQigHdL2l
The National Irrigation Authority is the implementing agency.
“We are building on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between Kenya and the United Arab Emirates to initiate development, including irrigation projects, that impacts the lives of Kenyans,” Ruto said.
The Galana project has suffered implementation issues, delaying its projected completion estimates.
In 2019, the project came to a halt as the government fired the contractor.
Kenya’s principal food is maize, with an annual consumption of 48 million bags.
Once completed, the project is estimated to meet 41% of the country’s annual maize consumption needs.
It is also expected to be the largest in East and Southern Africa, and it will be a significant step toward Kenya’s food security objectives.
In December last year, Irrigation PS Ephantus Kimotho stated that the government was in negotiations with Al Dahra about leasing acreage to the corporation as part of initiatives to improve Kenya’s food security.
He stated that the corporation would invest approximately $800 million (Sh103 million) to farm 200,000 acres of land at Galana.
“We are still negotiating, but we might soon sign a memorandum of understanding,” Kimotho told Bloomberg, indicating that the deal would be signed soon.
In January 2023, the President issued an order for the Galana project to proceed with implementation using Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) arrangement methods.
Production will begin on the 10,000 acres that have already been developed, with a further 10,000 acres planned for the medium future.
The components to be executed under PPP included production on the previously built 10,000 acres, as well as an additional 10,000 acres in the medium term.
The agreement would also include the construction of the Galana Dam, which would sustain an additional 350,000 acres for long-term food production.
According to the National Irrigation Authority, the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC – Kenya) has submitted a Privately Initiated Proposal (PIP) to construct the Galana Dam.
“Their PIP was approved to move to the Project Development Phase, according to the PPP Act 2021,” the agency said.
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The Dam is designed to retain 306 million cubic meters of water and will be critical in sustaining agricultural activities on an additional 350,000 acres set aside for food production.
According to the authority, Selu Ltd submitted a PIP to begin production, and once permitted to proceed to the Project Development Phase, they began experiments on the already developed 10,000 acres.
“Their proposal was successfully evaluated and negotiations concluded. The project agreement drafting is currently ongoing,” the authority said.
“Once the agreement is finalised, it will be initialised, presented to the PPP committee for approval then Attorney General before it is signed and rolled out.”
Ruto Signs Expansion Deal For Galana-Kulalu Project With UAE Investors
