Commercial Projects

Ground-Breaking Held for Sh4bn Tatu City Wine Factory

The winery is expected to enhance KWAL’s local value creation.

Updated on

February 17, 2021

Ground-breaking of KWAL’s new facility in Tatu City. PHOTO | COURTESY

The Kenya Wine Agency (KWAL) has initiated work on a new wine factory at Tatu City Industrial Park in Ruiru, Kiambu County, as it seeks to enhance its production capacity.

The company plans to invest Sh4 billion in the new winery, which will become the first production facility to be opened by KWAL in more than 20 years.

KWAL managing director Lina Githuka said the Tatu City winery will boost the firm’s capacity to produce brands that meet the growing consumer tastes while providing a superb work setting for its employees.

‘‘The facility will host [factory] with enhanced capacity to produce aspirational brands to meet ever-evolving consumer tastes; a world-class customer distribution centre as well as offices that will provide employees with a superb working environment,” Ms Githuka said.

The KWAL facility, whose ground-breaking ceremony was held last Friday, is expected to be an eco-friendly space having leveraged on green construction and systems that promote recycling to boost responsible production and consumption within the winery.

Richard Rushton, the managing director of KWAL’s majority shareholder Distell Group, said his company was excited about the greenfield investment terming it “a reflection of Distell’s confidence in the KWAL business as well in the future of Kenya”.

Distell became a shareholder of KWAL in 2015 following the completion of a privatization process. The Kenyan government, however, remains a significant shareholder of the firm through the Industrial and Commercial Development Corporation (ICDC).

On completion, the winery will further cement the Tatu Industrial Park’s position as a key industrial hub in East Africa hosting over 60 local and multinational businesses.

These include Dormans, Twiga Foods, Cooper K-Brands, Cold Solutions, Davis & Shirtliff, Copia, and Chandaria Industries, among others.

“The demand for Tatu Industrial Park has never been stronger, thanks to our world-class infrastructure and a conducive trading environment,” says Tito Oduk, a director at Tatu City.

Last month, Friendship Containers Manufacturing Ltd., a producer of metal packaging solutions, launched a new production plant at the industrial park to boost its capacity.

The plant which sits on a five-acre plot produces a range of plain and decorated metal containers and closures for professional commodities and household consumables.

“Our new home in the Tatu City Special Economic Zone has not only given us ample space to expand our operations but also a business-friendly environment that facilitates local, regional, and international trade,” said Arun Shah, managing director of Friendship.