Sh1.08bn textile centre at Kisumu national polytechnic on course

The plan to establish the Sh1.08 billion textile centre of excellence at the Kisumu National Polytechnic (KNP) is on course.

Already, the construction of the centre dubbed Regional Flagship TVET Institute for Textile Technology which sits on 686 acres is 52 per cent complete.  

The Sh 394 million centres will house a factory, laboratories, tuition blocks, studios and hostels being constructed by Chaju Builders Limited.

The centre is under the Sh1.08 billion program aimed to revive the textile industry in the country through a partnership between the Ministry of Education and the World Bank.

The project is funded by the World Bank to develop a value chain for cotton.  The five-storey office block shall be fitted with a lift for ease of movement for persons living with disabilities and a breastfeeding room.

Upon completion, the facility will enrol up to 6,000 students annually from Kenya and beyond.

The officials from the Ministry of Education and World Bank who toured the project on Wednesday expressed satisfaction with the ongoing construction work.

Under the programme, KNP has been identified as a centre of excellence for textiles. Cotton farming in the Nyanza region declined significantly after the collapse of Kisumu Cotton Mills (KICOMI) which was the mainstay for thousands of farmers in the area.

Already more than 30,000 farmers have been engaged and advised to plant BT cotton, which is highly productive and profitable.

Upon completion, the project will provide direct employment opportunities to over 500 individuals and 2,500 indirectly working at the factory, the institute and the cotton value chain.

KNP Chief Principal Catherine Kelonye said the project and scope of work stand at 52 per cent respectively.

The project is expected to be completed by June 28, 2023.

“It means our contractor is working well. The construction work was projected to be complete within 18 months,” she said.

Kelonye praised the contractor and Dama Services Limited for the quality of work.

“Textile technology is not the common garment making that we have. Our garment department is just a backbone,” she said.

Kelonye disclosed that they are going to advertise for high-standard expertise in December with interviews conducted by the governing council.

“Those are the people who will be coming to teach and train our students because textile technology is not a basic course,” she said.

Kelonye said they are also looking at having the expansive cotton growing in Siaya county where they have the KNP school of agriculture.

“We are urging farmers in this region to embark on the massive growth of cotton because the textile industry provides a ready market,” she said.

Kelonye said the institution is working with other technical and vocational training institutions to revive the sector.

Director of Research and innovations at the institution Nyangara Asaka said the program targets 16 institutions in Kenya, Ethiopia and Tanzania.

Nyangara said the project targets to revamp the sector from the farm level to the fashion exhibition stage.

He said they are developing a cluster of TVET institutions to jointly exploit the latest technology to revive the ailing textiles industry.

“We are working with stakeholders on the value chain including farmers, Small and Medium Enterprises, technicians and researchers to make the sector vibrant once again,” Nyangara said.

He reiterated that through working with all parties along the cotton value chain, new enterprises were expected to sprout and span economic development in the area.

Nyangara said they already working with stakeholders among them tailors, designers and Small and medium Enterprises (SMEs).

The funding seeks to support the development and delivery of demand-driven TVET programs for technician training in Kenya, Ethiopia and Tanzania in the transport, energy, manufacturing and ICT sectors.

He disclosed that 65 per cent of the funds shall go towards the purchase of equipment and building of the required infrastructure.

The remaining amount shall be put into capacity building along the value chain and training of lecturers to make the project a success.

Nyangara said the project's main goal is to make textile products from Kenya and the East Africa region meet international standards.

“Being a regional project, we have proposed to put up a hostel for international students whom we shall in turn give scholarships to attract more,” he said.

He added that an exchange programme with Ethiopia and Tanzania was in the pipeline where Kenyan students shall train in the two countries.

Nyangara said the project shall help revive cotton farming in the region since the demand for garments was set to rise.

“We will mainly deal with apparel, garments and fashion but we have signed an MOU with Rivatex East Africa Limited who shall deal with farmers to scale up production of cotton,” he said.

He said the region has a huge potential for cotton and leather, adding that by involving TVETs and the use of science and technology, the region was likely to develop an Economic Processing Zone (EPZ) for textiles.

The institution has the best tailoring and embroidery machines in the area and works with several SMEs and tailors besides producing garments.