NAIROBI, Kenya:July 9 (Xinhua) — Kenya is seeking to attract at least 2.14 billion U.S. dollars in foreign and local investments for the 2012/2013 financial year, a government official said on Monday.
Acting Managing Director of Kenya Investment Authority (KIA) Julius Korir told Xinhua in Nairobi that in the last financial year which ended in June, provisional data indicates that Kenya attracted close to 1.78 billion dollars in foreign and domestic investments.
“For the 2012/ 2013 financial year, we have set a target of total domestic and foreign investments of at least 2.14 billion dollars in order to make Kenya, a regional economic hub for Africa, ” he said on the sidelines of the conference to review preparations of Kenya House at the London Olympics.
“If the government achieves the target, it hopes to create employment opportunities to at least 30,000 jobs both in labor intensive and capital intensive projects,” he said.
Korir added that the government hopes to attract investment of at least 595 million dollars during the 30th Olympic Games in London which runs from July 27 to Aug. 12.
“We are banking on our athletes to highlight Kenya as an investment destination especially in sports, tourism, real estate, natural resources and technology,” he said.
KIA has prepared 12 projects that will be showcased during the games to potential investors.
“There are four in the railway sector, three that are Information and Communication Technology (ICT) related, while another involve construction of three conference facilities projects, one each involving the national museum as well as new sport stadium,” he said.
“Most of the investments will be targeted in the six key sectors identified under the country’s economic blue print Vision 2030,” the KIA official said.
Brand Kenya Chairman Hanningtone Gaya said that as a country, it is hoping to make a big statement to the world that Kenya is not just a sporting nation but an investment hub in east and central Africa.
“We will use the summer games to showcase the reforms that the government has put in place in order to reduce procedures before one invests inside the country,” Gaya said. (Xinhua)
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