Rwanda has committed to setting up a logistics hub at the Special Economic Zone in Mai Mahiu, Naivasha, a facility intended to speed up the movement of goods from the Port of Mombasa along the Standard Gauge Railway.

The commitment was made public during a visit to the zone by Rwanda’s Minister for Trade and Foreign Affairs, Dr Usta Kayitesi. She said Kenya had provided land for the hub and that the facility would ease trade between the two countries.

Rwanda is landlocked and depends on the Northern Corridor, which runs from Mombasa through Kenya to its borders, for much of its import and export traffic. Kayitesi said the route had been important in enabling ease of doing business, and put the value of Kenyan exports to Rwanda at more than $300 million.

She said the hub would give Rwanda one of its best access routes and thanked Kenya for the land.

Interest in the industrial park has risen to 24 international and local investors, up from 15 earlier in the year, according to the SEZ Authority. The zone’s chief executive, Dr Kenneth Chelule, said it is attracting at least four investors every quarter, and attributed the interest to the SGR connection, electricity and water.

Chelule said 600 housing units for workers are being built at the site, alongside a school, a hospital, a security unit and a commercial centre.

Investors in the zone are offered corporation tax of about 10% for the first ten years, 15% for the next ten years, and 30% after that, according to Chelule.

Dr John Diir, executive director of the Northern Corridor, said feasibility studies indicate significant growth in cargo transport. He said handling at the Port of Mombasa is expected to rise from the current 15 million metric tonnes annually to 40 million metric tonnes within five years.

The cost of Rwanda’s logistics hub investment, its construction timeline and the capacity it will handle were not stated in the report.