[File, Standard]The government’s strategic effort to establish Special Economic Zones (SEZs) was first proposed in the 1980s but gained momentum only in the 1990s. The government formalised the SEZ framework through the SEZ Act in 2015, providing a legal and regulatory foundation for its establishment. According to the African Development Bank 2022 report, Kenya’s infrastructure financing gap is estimated at $2.1 billion (Sh273 billion) annually. There is also an urgent need to address the issue of conflicting policies between the SEZ Act and the EPZ Act to allow for maximum exploitation of incentives. The writer is the Vice Chairman of the Association of Special Economic Zones

Source: Standard Digital March 22, 2026 09:31 UTC