DP World and GulfCap Africa Advance 222-Hectare Mombasa Industrial Park Agreement

DP World and GulfCap Africa have signed a formal Shareholders Agreement to advance the development of the 222-hectare Mombasa Industrial Park in Kenya. The signing ceremony took place in Nairobi in the presence of Kenyan President William Samoei Ruto, alongside Essa Kazim, Group Chairman of DP World, Mohammed Akoojee, CEO and Managing Director for Africa at DP World, and Suleiman Shahbal, Founder of GulfCap Africa. This development marks a significant operational step for the region, bringing industrial activity, logistics, and market access into closer alignment less than twenty kilometres from the Port of Mombasa.

The planned industrial park will operate as a Special Economic Zone, with the initial phase covering 40 hectares. DP World stated that the project is designed to provide businesses with an integrated environment for investment, manufacturing, and distribution. More than sixty local and international companies have already expressed interest in establishing operations within the zone. Once fully developed, the project anticipates generating over 20,000 direct and indirect jobs, while opening up operational opportunities for Kenyan suppliers, service providers, and small and medium-sized enterprises.

Kenya remains a market of strategic importance for DP World and serves as an essential gateway for trade across East Africa. The collaboration with GulfCap Africa aligns with national objectives to attract foreign direct investment and boost domestic manufacturing capacity. President William Samoei Ruto noted during the signing ceremony that the tripartite agreement between DP World, the County Government of Mombasa, and GulfCap demonstrates how government support and infrastructure alignment can lower production costs and help Kenyan goods compete successfully in regional and global markets.

Businesses operating from the new Special Economic Zone will be positioned to leverage Kenya's preferential trade access through multiple frameworks. These include the African Continental Free Trade Area, the Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union, and the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with the United Arab Emirates. Essa Kazim emphasized that the investment focuses on building trade-enabling infrastructure that connects Kenyan enterprises more efficiently with markets across Africa and globally, shifting the initiative from ambition to tangible delivery.

Why This Matters

The establishment of the Mombasa Industrial Park addresses critical bottlenecks in regional trade and logistics infrastructure by anchoring industrial capacity directly adjacent to a major maritime gateway. Proximity to the Port of Mombasa reduces transit friction for raw materials and finished goods, directly tackling the high cost of production that often limits the competitiveness of African manufactured goods on the international stage. By integrating manufacturing and distribution infrastructure within a Special Economic Zone framework, the project creates a physical node that simplifies supply chain execution for regional and multinational operators alike.

Furthermore, the initiative acts as a practical instrument for trade policy implementation, allowing enterprises to channel goods through established preferential corridors such as the African Continental Free Trade Area and various bilateral agreements. This alignment between physical infrastructure and trade pacts mitigates market access barriers and encourages foreign direct investment by offering regulatory and operational clarity. For the domestic economy, the intentional integration of small and medium-sized enterprises into the development's supply chains supports broader industrial deepening and regional economic resilience.

Opportunities

• Contractors and Construction Firms: Direct commercial openings in civil works, industrial facility construction, and site development for the initial 40-hectare phase and subsequent expansions of the Special Economic Zone.
• Logistics and Supply Chain Operators: Opportunities to establish warehousing, freight forwarding, and distribution operations in close proximity to both the Port of Mombasa and manufacturing tenants.
• SMEs and Local Service Providers: Commercial pathways to integrate into the supply chains of multinational and domestic anchor tenants operating within the industrial park.
• Financial Institutions and Investors: Financing opportunities tied to foreign direct investment projects, manufacturing facilities, and trade-enabling infrastructure supporting tenant operations.

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