NAIROBI, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Kenya plans to leverage its special economic zones to strengthen its industrial base and boost exports, officials said on Wednesday.
Abubakar Hassan Abubakar, principal secretary in the Ministry of Investments, Trade, and Industry, said the country has designated public- and privately-owned special economic zones that offer fiscal and administrative incentives to both local and foreign investors.
"Special economic zones have the opportunity to provide a platform for value addition to expand production in the agricultural, pharmaceutical, and textile sectors," Abubakar told journalists during the launch of the Kifaru Exim Special Economic Zone located in Tatu City, about 20 km north of Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.
Abubakar noted that special economic zones, as competitive manufacturing hubs, will enable Kenya to exploit the numerous preferential trade agreements signed with trading partners to boost exports.
Victor Mageto, head of business development services at the Special Economic Zones Authority, said Kenya is implementing reforms to streamline regulations to reduce bureaucratic hurdles as well as the cost of doing business in the zones. ■
