- President Ruto seeks investor to revive KICC, citing mismanagement and revenue decline
- KICC won’t be sold but transformed for tourism, clarifies President Ruto
- Bomas of Kenya to get strategic investor for new conference center and hotels
In a roundtable interview with local journalists on Sunday evening, President William Ruto affirmed his commitment to privatize the Kenyatta International Conventional Centre (KICC) despite public outcry.
President William Ruto.
Photo: X
President Ruto clarified that the iconic KICC, situated in Nairobi CBD, would not be sold but undergo a transformation to boost its revenue.
“KICC is an iconic building. It is the center of the city. All of us, including myself… when I first came to Nairobi, I went to that place where we are holding KICC at the top, and that will continue,” stated President Ruto.
Highlighting the financial challenges faced by KICC, Ruto revealed, “KICC was not built for photography. It was built as a national asset. KICC today is valued at KSh30 billion. Last year we got KSh29 million a year. What a waste!”
President Ruto attributed the decline in income to mismanagement, stating, “The whole of KICC has offices of people who pay nothing. Nobody wants to have a meeting there because it is dark, it has no facilities, no toilets…”
To address these issues, Ruto expressed his intention to bring in a strategic investor to turn around KICC’s revenues, emphasizing that the building would not be sold.
He proposed a similar strategy for the Bomas of Kenya, another location in Nairobi, where a new conference center and hotels are planned.
“I am also going to get a strategic investor for Bomas of Kenya. We need to build another conference facility in Bomas of Kenya, and maybe two, three hotels in Bomas of Kenya,” President Ruto explained, outlining his vision for boosting the country’s tourism sector.
President Ruto acknowledged the need for change and urged the people of Kenya to understand that KICC “is not being sold to anybody, it is not being taken anywhere. You can continue taking photographs.”
He highlighted that his approach aims to bring about positive transformations and elevate the fortunes of the nation, particularly in the tourism sector.
