Dubai’s DP World has signed a deal to co-develop a 222-hectare special economic zone (SEZ) in Kenya as it expands its footprint in Africa.
The Mombasa Industrial Park will be developed with Kenya-based investment group GulfCap Africa. It is expected to create more than 20,000 direct and indirect jobs once completed, the state-run Wam news agency reported.
The first phase will cover 40 hectares and aims to expand local manufacturing capacity while improving Kenya’s connectivity to regional and international markets.
More than 60 local and global companies have proposed taking space in the SEZ, according to the report.
Businesses will benefit from Kenya’s access to key markets through the African Continental Free Trade Area, its economic partnership agreement with the European Union and the comprehensive economic partnership agreement with the UAE.
No financial details or timeline for opening the SEZ were disclosed.
Last month DP World awarded a contract to redevelop Tanzania’s Dar es Salaam Port to Egypt-based contractor EDECS Group.
The Dubai government-owned company’s revenue increased just over 13 percent to $12.7 billion in the first half of 2026, but profit after tax fell 39 percent.
DP World has already invested 50 percent of its annual $3 billion capital investment across its global portfolio in the first half of 2026, supporting new capacity and trade in the UAE, the UK, India, Saudi Arabia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.