President Uhuru Kenyatta has announced plans to revive Pan Paper Mills in Webuye, Bungoma County.
He said that an agreement was reached with a strategic investor to purchase the heavily indebted factory, whose assets were on the brink of being wasted.
The President said the move would see livelihoods of residents of western Kenya improved from the more than 1,500 new job opportunities.
The factory, which has been idle for years,
will also absorb the former employees, Uhuru said.
Western Kenya leaders among them Bungoma Governor Ken Lusaka were present when Uhuru made the announcement at State House on Thursday.
The factory will be officially handed over to the new investors next week.
The Head of State said the new investors, whom he did not name, will inject $60 million (Sh6 billion) to revamp the factory.
Sources said the Rai family that owns Raiply and Timsales Ltd is the new buyer
This was after the
national government was accused of to revive the collapsed Webuye paper mills.
The government should quickly salvage the factory, said
National Assembly Committee on Trade, Finance and Planning chairman Benjamin Lagat.
The company went into receivership in 2009 after accruing huge debts.
There have been several bids and promises to revive the paper factory in the past regimes, but it has not been realised.
Industrialisation Secretary
Adan Mohammed
in April last year announced that the government is negotiating with two private investors to revive the factory.
He said advertisements seeking a strategic partner to take over the factory were made locally and also in the United Kingdom, South
Africa, the United States and China.