NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 23 – Tourism Principal Secretary Julius Bitok has announced the planned opening of the Ronald Ngala Utalii College in Kilifi on September 1, 2026, with the institution set to welcome its first cohort of 1,000 students after decades of planning and delays.
Speaking during an inspection tour of the campus on Thursday, Bitok said preparations for the maiden intake were almost complete, with the government putting the final logistical arrangements in place ahead of the launch.
“I can confirm that we are 95 percent ready to welcome the first cohort of 1,000 students on September 1. We have put all the necessary arrangements in place to make this a reality,” Bitok said.
The opening marks a major milestone for Kenya’s tourism and maritime training sectors, bringing to fruition a project that has been in the pipeline for more than three decades.
The institution was first approved under President Daniel arap Moi’s administration through Cabinet Minute 30/1996 on February 1, 1996, as a coastal campus of Kenya Utalii College. However, the project was shelved because of budgetary constraints.
It was revived under President Mwai Kibaki’s administration on September 13, 2007, as a flagship Kenya Vision 2030 project. Although implementation began in March 2010, the college faced more than a decade of delays before reaching operational readiness.
Bitok described the institution as a modern counterpart to Nairobi Utalii College, saying it will gradually expand to accommodate up to 4,000 students.
The college will offer diploma programmes, short courses and management refresher programmes in hospitality, hotel management, catering and seafaring, targeting skills needed in Kenya’s tourism and blue economy sectors.
The PS said the government is also considering a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) to fast-track the completion and operation of a tourist-class training hotel within the campus, where students will gain practical industry experience.
The project is expected to create at least 1,000 direct and indirect jobs while supporting the government’s target of attracting five million tourists annually by 2028.
“We are committed to building the capacity required for tourism and hospitality. The opening of this institution will go a long way in helping us achieve our target of five million tourists by 2028,” Bitok said.
Kilifi Governor Gideon Mung’aro welcomed the opening, saying it would create opportunities for young people pursuing careers in the blue economy.
“We recently had recruiters looking for 600 seafarers, but only 59 qualified because many lacked the necessary certification,” Mung’aro said.
He said the institution would help bridge the skills gap by producing internationally competitive graduates for Kenya’s hospitality and maritime industries.
Both Bitok and Mung’aro also urged political leaders to avoid remarks that could harm Kenya’s tourism image.
“We urge leaders to weigh their words when speaking about tourism because it is a very delicate industry. What we have built over many years can be destroyed in a single day by reckless remarks,” Mung’aro said.
This structure is more in line with standard news writing: news first, context second. Readers immediately get the announcement before being taken through the project’s long history.
