Thika town will become Kenya's fifth city if plans laid by the Kiambu county government succeed.
Governor James Nyoro said his government is working closely with the national government on infrastructural development in a bid to elevate the municipality to city status.
The revelation comes a month after the Senate voted to elevate Nakuru from a municipality to a city. The Rift Valley town is now awaiting issuance of a city charter by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Nakuru will become the fourth city after Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu.
Nyoro spoke while inspecting development projects in Thika. Among the projects undertaken by the county government in partnership with the national government include a proposed airport in Gatuanyaga, improvement of Thika’s road network and street lighting.
“After Nakuru, Thika will be the next city and we are working round the clock to ensure that all requirements for the municipality to be elevated to a city are met. We are currently undertaking massive development projects geared towards achieving this goal,” Nyoro said.
The governor noted that the proposed airport will be constructed on a piece of land that was ceded by the multinational juice maker, Del Monte, in 2018.
Former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu signed a deal with Del Monte managing director Stergios Gkaliamoutsas, which saw the firm cede some 635 acres of its unutilised land in Thika East.
The Kiambu county government allowed the firm to use some 8,000 acres of its land for another 99 years.
Nyoro noted that crucial amenities that offer services to residents efficiently and effectively are already in place. They include the Thika fire station, Thika Water and Sewerage Company, Thika Level 5 Hospital and Thika Stadium, among others.
He said multimillion-shilling projects aimed at increasing water supply in Thika through Thiwasco are in the pipeline.
“Projects aimed at injecting more water in the system are underway. We want to have sufficient water to sustain the increasing population as well as the many industries within Thika,” he said.
The governor also indicated that waste management in the region has been addressed through partnerships, citing the collaboration with Japanese Fukuoka University.
Fukuoka University has been in collaboration with the Kiambu county government on solid waste management. Already a semi-aerobic waste management landfill pilot project known as the Fukuoka method landfill at Kang’oki dumpsite has been successfully completed at a cost of Sh40 million.
“We are engaging partners so as to put up essential amenities required by our people and ones that will help us in this journey of making Thika a city,” Nyoro said.
Thika residents who spoke to the Star welcomed the idea.
Humphrey Njenga said Thika has developed immensely and can attain the city status.
“We would love this municipality to become a city because we know we would reap more especially as traders. Elevation of Thika to a city will see more developments and investments open up and this will turn around the local economy,” Njenga said.
Edited by Henry Makori
