New Resort City in Kenya nears reality

Last Updated 14 years ago by Kenya Engineer

The Isiolo Resort city will soon be a reality after the county council’s approval after which the actual designs will be laid out at a cost of Sh500 million. The government has mapped out 6,200 acres of land on which the city will be built.

 The building of the resort is expected to cost Sh15 billion of which Sh6.8 billion will be raised from the private sector. It will include an international airport which will be constructed in the town as a node for a railway line, pipeline and highway to be built under the Lamu-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport Corridor. Other facilities in the resort city will include theatres for international festivals, accommodation facilities, water sport facilities, amusement parks, art exhibition, skiing and golf courses.

A 136-kilometre road from Isiolo to Merille at Kenya’s border with Ethiopia has been completed while another linking Isiolo to Garissa is planned. Ethiopia has also finished constructing its road to the Kenyan border and would build railway line as part of the Lamu-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport Corridor project.

The feasibility study of the entire LAPSSET project was carried out by the Japanese Port Consultants who identified Mulango, an area that is nestled between two hills, Katim and Oldonyo Degishu, as the prime area to set up the city. Mulango is about 20km from Isiolo town. The land is not owned by individuals but it is a community land and the Council acts as the custodian.

Besides the Isiolo resort city, other resort cities under Vision 2030 include Kilifi, Diani, Lamu, and Turkana.The cities are aimed at boosting growth in the tourism industry. Last year, nearly two million tourists visited Kenya bringing in Sh98 billion in earnings. The resort cities will seek to attract high-end tourists who will see the government increase expenditure per visitor to Sh70, 000 up from the current Sh56, 000.

The resort city will be in close proximity to key tourist attraction sites around Isiolo like the Buffalo Springs, Samburu National Park, Shaba National Reserves, Mt Kenya National Park and Meru National Park.

The promise of major infrastructure projects has however pushed up land prices more than three times in the last two year. The price of land in Isiolo is Sh9 million an acre within the township and Sh1 million in the outskirts.

The government is expected to start marketing the resort city by June next year.

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