President Uhuru Kenyatta has revealed re-establishment the Volkswagen assembly plant in the Kenyan market and said it will be helpful in the creation of more jobs for youths in the country.
Speaking at State House in Nairobi on Wednesday, the president said that the re-entrance of the manufacturers was a welcome idea in line with Jubilee's pledge to provide jobs for the youths.
“I am happy to welcome back the largest car manufacturer currently in the world, back to Kenya. This is a milestone in my administration’s determined push to grow the manufacturing base and transform Kenya into an industrialised nation,” said Uhuru.
“We are a country of young people so many of you may not be aware that Kenya in the 1970s used to assemble Volkswagen vans, microbuses and the famous Kombi.”
The German manufacturers are expected to make a wide variety of vehicles including light trucks and the Vivo passenger car as the plant progresses towards becoming a fully-fledged assembly plant to produce more makes of vehicles.
The plant is expected to roll out the first vehicle before December 31, 2016.