This archive report was first published on 8 June 2020.
Published on June 8, 2020, The Standard reported that the Bachuma Livestock Export Processing Zone project in Voi, Taita Taveta, has been cancelled.
The project, which was expected to be completed in November 2019, is classified as 50 per cent complete. However, the contractor failed to meet set deadlines on several occasions, prompting the cancellation of the project.
Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperative Development Peter Munya said that construction works on the 15,000-acre land have been terminated. He attributed the failure to the contractor's inability to deliver tangible work despite being provided with funds.
According to work documents, the first phase of the project, which started in March 2015, is now 95 per cent done. The second phase, which began in April 2016, was expected to be finished in November 2019 but is classified as 50 per cent complete.
CS Munya dismissed the contractor's claims that the Covid-19 pandemic was partly to blame for the delay, stating that works not done from as far back as June 2019 are still outstanding.
