Tatu City

Tatu City is a 5,000 acres (2,000 ha) special economic zone (SEZ) located 20 kilometres (12 mi) North of Nairobi Central Business District (CBD) in the Ruiru Municipality area[1][2] of Kiambu County. It sits within the greater Nairobi Metropolitan region and is a flagship project of the Kenya Vision 2030 blueprint.[3][4]

Tatu City
City
Tatu City is located in Kenya
Tatu City
Tatu City
Coordinates: 1.158751°S 36.907054°E / -1.158751; 36.907054
Country Kenya
DistrictThika District
LocalityRuiru – Kamiti Road
DivisionRuiru
ConstituencyRuiru
Established2011
Founded byRendeavor
WebsiteOfficial website

Administration

Tatu City is designated as a project of special importance by the Government of Kenya through The Physical Land Use Planning (Classification of Strategic and Inter-county Projects) Regulations of 2019 via the Kenya Gazette Vol.CXXI-No.73 (2019).[5] According to the Kenyan law, projects located within a Special Economic Zone context benefit from government-issued tax incentives among other benefits.[6]

Project Progress

A Road in Tatu City
A road in Kijani Ridge Tatu City, 2022

As of 2022 the Tatu City Zone was home to more than 60 business entities[7] two international schools namely Nova Pioneer and Crawford International.[8] The city was (as of 2022) also home to various completed, ongoing, and proposed housing projects among them Kijani Ridge,[9] Unity Homes,[10] Karibu Homes,[11] Tatu Waters,[12] and Mchana Estates.[13]

Some of the companies with a presence in the Tatu City Industrial Park by 2022 included Dormans, Kenya Wine (KWAL), Uniliver, Copia, Bidco, Davis & Shirtliff, Coopers, Chandaria Industries, Gallagher, Tianlong, and Kim-Fay among others.[14]

History

The land on which Tatu City sits was originally part of the Belgian Socfinaf coffee farm previously known as Tatu Estate before being acquired by Rendeavour in 2010.[15] This is the same case with Northlands City and Kahawa Sukari tracts of land also in Ruiru which were originally owned by Socfinaf prior to being sold to new owners in the post-colonial era.[16]

Location

Tatu City can be accessed via Thika Road, Nairobi Eastern Bypass Highway, Nairobi Northern Bypass Highway, and the Kamiti Road. It is 30 minutes away from the Nairobi CBD, 40 minutes from the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, 10 minutes from the Kasarani International Stadium, 5 Minutes from Kamiti Prisons. The city is in close proximity to the Kenya Prisons Staff Training College (PSTC), Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral & Research Hospital (KUTRRH), Kamiti Maximum Security Prisons. It touches the Nairobi County boundary at its southerly-most tip at Kamiti River.

Environment and parks

Tatu City lies within the relatively green side of Nairobi which is part of the greater Aberdare ecosystem. Thirty percent of the land is allocated to green spaces among them nature parks, forests, coffee farms (to preserve the heritage of the place), and public amenities.

an upcoming public park in Tatu City
Mugumo Heritage Park, Tatu City, 2022

Controversy

The project was in the middle of a long court battle due to shareholder wars in the period between 2013 and 2018.[17] The matter was a major part of public discourse in the country and even attracted the attention of the Lands Committee of the National Assembly of Kenya which then absolved Tatu City of any wrongdoing.[18][19]

See also

References

  1. September 23, 2021, Thursday (2021-09-22). "Tatu, Konza City form lobby to seek foreign investment". Business Daily. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  2. Amadala, Victor. "Slow dream to Kenya's technocities, Tatu City taking shape". The Star. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  3. Correspondent, B. T. (2017-10-16). "Vision 2030 Delivery Board to support Tatu City – Business Today Kenya". Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  4. City, Tatu. "Vision 2030 Delivery Board commits to support growth of Tatu". www.tatucity.com. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  5. "Kenya Law | Kenya Gazette". kenyalaw.org. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  6. CORRESPONDENT (2021-12-22). "Special Economic Zones Authority Board lauds Kenya's first 'One-Stop Shop' at Tatu City". Capital Business. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  7. "Tatu City flies Kenyan diaspora home from anywhere in the world". www.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  8. "Tatu City scores big with new schools". The Star. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  9. CORRESPONDENT (2021-11-23). "Tatu city appoints Stecol to complete Kijani ridge". Capital Business. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  10. CORRESPONDENT (2021-11-03). "Unity homes launches construction of 640 affordable units". Capital Business. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  11. Karibu Homes to build 1,000 units in Tatu City, retrieved 2022-07-07
  12. April 19, 2017, Wednesday (2020-12-12). "Tatu City to build Sh35bn houses in Ruiru, Kiambu". Business Daily. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  13. "Progress of the Project" (PDF). www.nema.go.ke. Retrieved 2022-12-24.
  14. CORRESPONDENT (2019-05-21). "Tatu Industrial Park hits 50 company milestone". Capital Business. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  15. "Africa buzzing as next frontier for coffee drinkers". Financial Times. 2015-10-14. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  16. "The War for Tatu City". 14 October 2016.
  17. "Kenya city shareholders refuse to pay foreign investors". Financial Times. 9 July 2018.
  18. "Statement on Parliamentary hearing | Tatu Tribune".
  19. "MPS clash over Tatu City probe » Capital News". 16 August 2018.
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