Selu Africa Limited, one of the companies investing in the Galana-Kulalu Food Security Project, plans to inject over $880 million (about Sh117 billion) into the project over a ten-year period.
The firm, which is at the final stages of acquiring a lease and other government authorizations to start full operations, will initially invest $80 million (about Ksh10.6 billion) to open up 20,000 acres of land for irrigation over three years, according to Chief Executive Officer Nicholas Ambanya.
“We look forward to injecting $80 million in the first three years of this project to develop 20,000 acres of land. Following this, we will invest an additional $800 million over seven years, bringing the total to $880 million over ten years to commercialize a total of 200,000 acres,” the CEO said.
Speaking to journalists after the firm’s senior officials conducted potential partners on a tour of the infrastructure, Ambanya said the company had reached a stage where it was finalizing the acquisition agreement and was about to start farming.
“What we were doing today was bringing in some of our potential investors to appreciate the infrastructure the government has put in place and the work we have been doing, particularly in major sectors such as the bridge and the dam, to prepare for the start of the project,” he added.
The company and its partners have constructed a dam within part of the 1.7 million-acre Agricultural Development Corporation (ADC) farm situated in Tana River and Kilifi Counties.
They intend to utilize the existing infrastructure laid down by the government and other development partners.
Additionally, Selu Africa Limited is constructing a bridge across the Galana River within Tsavo East National Park to facilitate the transport of the anticipated massive harvest once production fully commences.
“The investment we are putting up includes mainly irrigation infrastructure and other support infrastructure like equipment, machinery, roads, and housing,” Ambanya stated.
When asked how the company expects to succeed where others, such as Green Arava, failed, Ambanya explained that the government contracted the Israeli firm not to farm but to develop infrastructure, test its efficacy, and then hand it over as a model farm to the private sector.
The Korean Solar Power Consortium is set to install a solar plant to supplement grid power, with diesel as a standby source of power. This aims to lower the cost of doing business within the farm.
“We will have three sources of power in this project: solar, grid, and diesel. We prioritize solar because we want to go green and lower energy costs. This will be backed up by the grid, with diesel as a standby,” Ambanya said.
He mentioned that the primary crop to be grown on the farm will be maize, but the company also plans to develop other value chains alongside maize.
