East African Business Week

NAIROBI, KENYA -- Kenya will later this month be host to a major high level investors' conference that will seek to highlight ongoing infrastructural projects in the region thereby attracting investment.
The two day conference involving all the major regional trading blocks including Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, (COMESA), East African Community, (EAC) Southern African Development Community, (SADC), and Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD) will take place in Nairobi between September 28 and 29.
President Mwai Kibaki will officially open the tripartite and IGAD development conference.
An estimated 33 relevant government ministries from the countries served by the Lamu, Djibouti, Northern, Central and Berbera transport corridors will attend with delegations expected from the ministries of Transport, Roads, Information, Energy and Roads among other minstries.
"The objective of the conference is to advance the highlighted projects toward feasibility and bank-ability allowing investors from the private sector, governments and donor community to finance such projects through institutional arrangements such as direct private sector investment, Public Private partnerships and public expenditure," said Jason Kap-Kirwok the Kenya country director of TradeMark East Africa, a multi-donor funded agency which provides support for increased regional trade and economic integration in East Africa.
Kap-Kirowk said the conference hopes to attract an estimated Sh 2.7 trillion (US$ 3 billion) in investment capital towards priority roads, railways and ports infrastructural projects in the region.
Mr. Gabriel Kaunda the deputy chief economist, in the ministry of Kenyan Trade said the conference is highly critical coming at a time when the world is being faced by a global financial crisis which made donor financing of projects almost inconceivable.
"In the wake of such challenges regional governments are putting emphasis on regional financing solutions through the creation of meaningful partnerships and the conference will help us highlight on this," said Kaunda.
Kaunda added that the conference would also help in exploring avenues for regional countries to expand their technical capacity to implement regional projects.