Mountex Textile Industry in Kenya’s Laikipia county is set to reopen after staying closed for 17 years. A feasibility study will be carried out for the plant to commence operations within two months, trade and industry cabinet secretary Peter Munya said in Nanyuki. Mountex is the latest to queue up for revival after Rivatex in Eldoret and Kicomi in Kisumu. Munya also warned individuals who had grabbed government land meant for traders in the town. When the company shut down operations in 2002, 3000 employees became jobless and were forced to seek alternative sources of income. Munya also announced the immediate revocation of land leased to local traders by the Kenya Industrial Estates for failing to initiate any meaningful cottage industries in the past 25 years ago, according to a report in a Kenyan newspaper. Locals have further been urged to identify activities that will ensure they are incorporated in the textile value chain when the firm begins operations.
