Germany’s water pumps and pump systems manufacturer Wilo is set to open an assembly plant in Nairobi.
The firm’s Country Manager, Belete Asnake, Monday said the assembly plant will be fully operational by 2020.
It is targeting to serve the entire Eastern Africa.
“Currently, we have hired 20 people for the new regional office but will expand our production lines creating jobs for more people as we are targeting a market of 250 million from Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania among other countries within the larger Eastern Africa,”
he said.
Mr Asnake spoke at Kenya Water Institute (Kewi) in Nairobi where Water Secretary Eugene Wamalwa hailed the new investment.
“The water sector requires investment from both public and private sector players to meet the high demand, mitigate effects of climate change and also prepare Kenya’s ability to meet future water needs for its people,”
he said.
Germany’s head of economic affairs Michael Derus said his government had signed a memorandum of understanding with their Kenyan counterparts to facilitate capital investments by German-based companies especially in the water and wastewater subsectors.
“With increased urbanisation, we see big opportunities for German companies to partner with Kenya’s private sector in meeting the needs of the growing population,” he said.
Kenya and Germany target a strong training capacity on water management in Kenya. Mr Wamalwa said Kewi will benefit from Germany’s technical capacity, thereby improving quality of water supplied.
