President William Ruto has outlined sweeping investment plans for Kenya’s Coast region during a five-day development tour, pledging more than Sh10 billion for blue economy projects and a further Sh25 billion for affordable housing, markets, and educational facilities in Kilifi County alone. The blue economy investments include five fish landing sites, three fish markets, 272 modern fishing boats, the Sh2.6 billion Shimoni Fish Port, and a Sh1.5 billion fish hatchery — all aimed at transforming coastal livelihoods and unlocking the potential of Kenya’s largely underexploited Exclusive Economic Zone. Beyond fisheries, the President used the Kilifi visit to address longstanding land grievances, electricity access, teacher recruitment, healthcare funding, and human-wildlife conflict — positioning the Coast tour as a comprehensive development push ahead of the 2027 election cycle.
Key Overview
- Blue Economy Investment: Over Sh10 billion across fishing infrastructure, boats, and port facilities
- Shimoni Fish Port: Sh2.6 billion facility completed in June 2025, Kenya’s first dedicated fish port
- Fish Landing Sites: Five sites under construction at Sh840 million
- Fish Markets: Three markets worth Sh350 million
- Fishing Boats: 272 modern boats distributed to coastal fishermen
- Affordable Housing (Kilifi): Sh18 billion allocated for housing units; Sh25 billion total for Kilifi projects
- Title Deeds: 381,000 issued at the Coast out of 1.5 million nationally; 200,000 more pledged in 90 days
- Electricity: Sh2.2 billion for 20,000 household connections in Kilifi
- Healthcare: Sh1.4 billion disbursed to Kilifi hospitals via Social Health Authority
- Tsavo Fencing: Sh315 million for 140 km of park fencing in Ganze
President William Ruto has announced a sweeping package of investments for Kenya’s Coast region, headlined by more than Sh10 billion in blue economy projects designed to transform the fishing industry and lift thousands of coastal families out of poverty. Speaking on Sunday during a thanksgiving service at Mnagoni Primary School grounds in Bamba, Ganze Constituency, Kilifi County, the President framed the spending as part of a deliberate effort to strengthen the economic backbone of communities that depend on fishing and maritime activities.
The announcement came during a broader five-day development tour of the Coast region that has already seen the President issue title deeds, launch infrastructure projects, and unveil housing plans across six coastal counties.
Fishing Infrastructure and the Shimoni Port
The centrepiece of the blue economy package is a cluster of major fishing infrastructure projects. Five fish landing sites are being constructed along the Kenyan coast at a combined cost of Sh840 million, alongside three fish markets worth Sh350 million. The government has also distributed 272 modern fishing boats to fishermen across the region to improve their operational capacity and safety at sea.
Two of the largest individual investments are in Kwale County: a Sh1.5 billion fish hatchery and the flagship Shimoni Fish Port, constructed at a cost of Sh2.6 billion. The Shimoni facility — Kenya’s first dedicated fish port — was handed over to the Kenya Ports Authority by contractor Southern Engineering Company in July 2025 after three years of construction. Built following benchmarking missions to Spain, Morocco, and the Seychelles, the port features modern fish storage and processing units, a water treatment plant, and capacity to accommodate larger fishing vessels.
The port is expected to handle an annual throughput of 50,000 metric tons of fish and is being positioned under a public-private partnership model to attract private operators. Marine fisheries currently contribute just 17% of Kenya’s total fish production at approximately 26,000 tonnes annually, against an estimated potential of over 300,000 tonnes within the country’s 142,400 square kilometre Exclusive Economic Zone — a gap the Shimoni port and accompanying infrastructure are designed to begin closing.
The Coast investments mirror a similar push in the Nyanza region earlier this year, where Ruto unveiled Sh9.5 billion in blue economy investments around Lake Victoria, including ten fish landing sites, aquaculture centres, and rescue facilities expected to create over 10,000 jobs. Cabinet Secretary Hassan Joho has indicated that the President has approved negotiations for a further Sh32 billion in blue economy funding nationally, signalling a significant scaling up of government ambition in the maritime sector.
Sh25 Billion Housing and Infrastructure Push in Kilifi
Beyond fisheries, the President announced more than Sh25 billion in transformative projects for Kilifi County under the Affordable Housing Programme. Of that figure, Sh18 billion has been allocated for affordable housing units, Sh1.2 billion for the construction of 10 modern markets, and more than Sh2 billion for hostels at universities, technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions, and Kenya Medical Training College centres.
The Kilifi housing pledge builds on momentum from the Tezo Affordable Housing Project, a 1,000-unit development valued at approximately Sh2.5 billion along the Kilifi-Malindi Road, which the President launched earlier in 2026. An additional 5,000 units have been announced for Bofa, Watamu, and Mtwapa within the county. Nationally, Ruto’s administration says more than 230,000 housing units are under construction, with the programme having created over 428,000 jobs for professionals and artisans to date.
Resolving the Coast Land Question
One of the most politically sensitive issues addressed during the tour is the long-standing crisis of landlessness along the Coast. The President said that of the 1.5 million title deeds issued nationally in the past three years, 381,000 have been issued to Coast residents — approximately 25% of the national total. During the tour, he issued a further 33,025 title deeds to residents from six coastal counties at a ceremony at Mama Ngina Waterfront in Mombasa.
The President pledged that another 200,000 families would receive title deeds within 90 days upon completion of ongoing land adjudication exercises, and unveiled a Sh3.8 billion compensation plan to buy out absentee landlords and convert the land to local ownership. “Citizens must live with certainty; they must plan with certainty knowing that this is their land. If they continue being squatters, they cannot invest,” the President said.
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Education, Health, and Electricity
The President also detailed targeted investments in public services across Kilifi County. On electricity, Ruto said Sh2.2 billion is being invested to connect 20,000 households in the county, with the Malindi-Weru-Kilifi and Rabai-Bomani-Kilifi transmission lines expected to stabilise supply and spur economic growth once completed.
In education, he noted that his administration had hired 100,000 teachers nationally in three years. In Kilifi specifically, 2,860 teachers have been recruited in the last three years — compared with just 700 employed between 2017 and 2022 — and urged parents, chiefs, and village elders to ensure no child stays home while schools are in session.
On healthcare, the President said Sh1.4 billion had been disbursed to Kilifi hospitals over the past 18 months through the Social Health Authority programme, giving the county government resources to expand and equip local health facilities.
Youth Empowerment and the NYOTA Programme
Ruto also used the Kilifi event to commend Youth Affairs and Creative Economy Principal Secretary Fikirini Jacobs, in whose honour the thanksgiving service was held. The President praised Jacobs for his role in rolling out the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) programme, a World Bank-funded initiative that provides Sh50,000 business grants to young people in each of Kenya’s 1,450 wards.
By January 2026, the programme had already disbursed Sh258.4 million to over 10,000 youth beneficiaries across Nairobi, Kiambu, and Kajiado counties, with further clusters rolled out since. In April 2026, KNCCI formalised a partnership to implement a nationwide hands-on experience programme targeting 130,000 young people under the NYOTA umbrella, with 90,000 placements in the formal sector and 40,000 in the informal sector.
Wildlife Conflict and Conservancy Dispute
The President also addressed long-running human-wildlife conflict in Ganze, announcing Sh315 million to fence 140 kilometres of Tsavo National Park bordering affected villages. He further directed the immediate deregistration of the Shirango Conservancy, saying it had been illegally registered without the consent of local residents, and ordered that the land be returned to the community — a move likely to be welcomed in an area where conservancy disputes have fuelled tensions between residents and conservation authorities.
The Bigger Picture
Taken together, the Coast tour announcements represent one of the most concentrated bursts of government spending commitments in the region’s recent memory. With the 2027 general election on the horizon, the investments carry obvious political weight — particularly in a historically marginalised region where land ownership, fishing livelihoods, and basic infrastructure remain deeply emotive issues. Whether the pledges translate into completed projects at the scale promised will be the ultimate test of the administration’s credibility in the Coast.
Sources: The Star / The Standard / Business Daily Africa / Kenya News Agency / KBC / Capital FM / Capital News / Citizen Digital / Kenyans.co.ke / The Eastleigh Voice / AllAfrica / The Coast Media Group / Mwakilishi / The County Digest / MSEA / Freight Logistics Magazine / Feed Business MEA / Dawan Africa / NYOTA Project / Kenya Tribune
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