Envisioned as a flagship centre for research, product testing, technology transfer and commercial innovation, the Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute (KIRDI) Techno-Centre along Lusaka Road in Nairobi has remained under construction for more than a decade, hampered by funding shortages, procurement challenges and contractor disputes.
Now, the project appears to have regained momentum.
The National Treasury has allocated an additional Sh3.4 billion in the 2026/27 financial year to fast-track its completion. Once estimated to cost Sh5.9 billion, the project’s budget has since increased to about Sh8.56 billion, reflecting the financial impact of years of delays. The government is now targeting completion by the end of 2027.
When complete, the Techno-Centre will feature advanced research laboratories, pilot manufacturing plants, product testing facilities and business incubation centres, providing innovators and manufacturers with the infrastructure needed to develop, test and commercialise locally developed technologies.
The renewed investment follows years of scrutiny. By early 2024, the Auditor-General reported that approximately Sh5 billion had already been spent on the project, raising concerns that the prolonged delays had denied taxpayers value for money. A proposal to complete the development through a public-private partnership was later shelved, with the government instead opting to finance the remaining works entirely through the Treasury.
After more than ten years of waiting, there is renewed hope that one of Kenya’s most ambitious research and innovation projects may finally become a reality.
