State speeds up Sh1.3bn Kisumu fish project
Deputy President Kithure Kindiki addresses residents of Kabonyo in Kisumu County during an inspection of Kabonyo Aquaculture Project on April 15, 2025.
The government has committed to fast-tracking the completion of the Kabonyo Aquaculture Project in Kisumu County, with a target to finish the Sh1.3 billion initiative within the next year.
Deputy President Prof Kithure Kindiki on Tuesday announced that funding has already been secured for the project, which currently stands at 15 per cent completion.
He emphasized that the facility is expected to significantly boost the fishing industry and revitalise the economy of counties surrounding Lake Victoria.
“We envisage completing the project by June 30, 2026,” said Prof Kindiki during an inspection tour of the site in Kadibo sub-County.
He directed that all construction works be expedited to meet the deadline.
The aquaculture centre will play a key role in restocking Lake Victoria and promoting fish farming across the region.
Once operational, it will produce at least 28 million fingerlings annually to support aquaculture, cage culture and restocking efforts.
The facility will also supply freshwater fish feed to both small and large-scale fish farmers.
“This is one of the government’s flagship projects to revitalize the blue economy and uplift the livelihoods of fisher folk in Migori, Homa Bay, Kisumu, Siaya and Busia counties,” said Prof Kindiki, who was accompanied by Muhoroni MP Onyango K’Oyoo and other local leaders.
In addition to the aquaculture centre, the DP announced that the government has completed the construction of three modern fish landing sites in Sori, Luanda Kotieno and Mulukhoba in Busia.
“Next week, we will advertise the construction of nine more landing sites - one in Migori, two in Homa Bay, two in Kisumu, three in Siaya and one in Busia,” he said, noting that each will cost between Sh150 million and Sh160 million.
These landing sites will include modern infrastructure such as cold storage facilities, aiming to reduce post-harvest losses and increase the value of fish products in the region.
Other than fingerling production, the facility will offer training, research and innovation through demonstration units and incubation centres.
It will also host a Nile Perch multiplication centre, an aquaculture resource centre and the Kenya Fishing School.
The renewed push to complete the project comes months after delays caused by inter-agency bottlenecks.
In August 2023, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs Cabinet Secretary Ali Hassan Joho accused the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) and the National Construction Authority (NCA) of frustrating the project’s progress despite it being officially launched by President William Ruto in October 2023.
Mr Joho revealed that while designs were completed, a contractor secured and funding provided through a Hungarian government partnership, construction could not begin due to regulatory red tape.
“We have signed the contracts, designs are complete and money is ready. But Nema and NCA have stalled the process by subjecting the contractor to endless bureaucratic hurdles,” Joho said during an official visit to Kisumu in August last year.
He warned that such internal sabotage undermines critical national development, saying; “It is unacceptable for one arm of government to paralyze another. Action will be taken against officials responsible for the delays.”
The directive from the DP has however renewed government focus that the project will soon be back on track, paving the way for a sustainable, modernized fishing industry in western Kenya.