The first sustainable smart city in Kenya and the rest of the East African region, Konza Technopolis has been under construction since its approval as Kenya’s Vision 2030 flagship project in 2008 then consequent groundbreaking in 2013. The project is envisioned to largely contribute to Kenya’s techno-economical growth once its done. This growth is however already being witnessed, with the Technopolis having implemented and operationalized an ISO 27001 certified Tier III Data Center within its premises; to offer high end cloud services to both private and public sectors.
The Data Center was built as part of Konza’s Phase I construction, which officially started in 2018 and additionally includes the construction of schools, police stations, fire stations, roads, waste management systems and recreational facilities, among other public facilities. This is when the project simultaneously rolled out land leasing as one of its continuing services. A year later, the special economic zone’s first complex building was done, steering forward the project’s progress.
On top of the Data Center, another notable development within Konza is its research institute that is still under construction. The center’s vision positions the Technopolis as a futuristic regional hub for research and innovation in sectors such as physical infrastructure, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructure. The city’s developers also have plans underway that will allow for a 700MVA electrical power substation in it, making it self-sufficient in every sense.
Within this first phase only, Konza has an aim of creating at least 17,000 jobs for skilled laborers and technology experts. Also, in the long-term, the Technopolis is expected to contribute to at least 2% of Kenya’s GDP yearly upon full project completion. With investors already going into this city’s market, the likeliness of these goals being achieved is a high-reward possibility for East Africa’s growth in infrastructure.
Confirmed by Konza’s CEO Eng. John Tanui on the 16th of May, the special economic zone has now overally marked its progress at 80% in 2022.
