Kenya Airways to fly to Hanoi in Vietnam from March 2015

Kenya Airways will become the first and only airline to link Vietnam directly to Africa with flights to Hanoi from March 30 2015.

Kenya  Airways will fly three times a week to Hanoi in a Boeing 787 Dreamliner and will provide strong connections to the key markets in Africa. Hanoi is home to over 7 million people (2013 estimates) and is a rapidly growing municipality. 

In 2013, PricewaterhouseCoopers estimated that Hanoi would be fastest growing city in the world in term of GDP growth from 2008 to 2025. Hanoi has a nominal GDP of USD 21.5bn and a per capita GDP of US$ 3000.

To support and enhance this operation, Kenya Airways will work closely with Skyteam partner Vietnam Airlines, whose hub is Hanoi, in order to provide further travel options into Japan, Malaysia, Korea and China.

Kenya Airways’ Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Mbuvi Ngunze said the potential of Vietnam as a country with strong economic growth and a growing middle class is significant.

“Vietnam has shown a considerable and stable economic growth over the recent years, including an increase in trade with Africa. As the first airline to directly connect Vietnam to Africa, we are sure to leverage on this growth. Together with our SkyTeam partner Vietnam Airlines, we are very confident the addition of Hanoi to our network will be a success” said Mr. Ngunze.

In the last year, Kenya Airways has deployed its new fleet of six B787 Dreamliner aircraft for commercial service, mostly on routes to Asia and Europe. Most recently, the Dreamliner took its inaugural flight to London, one of KQ most prominent routes. Three more Dreamliners are scheduled to arrive in 2015.

With the introduction of the B787 Dreamliner, new routes and cities are now accessible from Nairobi economically, which has paved the way for Hanoi as an additional destination.
The airline, which currently has the youngest fleet in Africa, also received three 777-300ER and 3 next generation B737-800 in the last year.

SME’s to be integrated in Kenanie Industrail Leather City

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) will be integrated in the proposed Kenanie Industrial Leather City, Cabinet Secretary for Industrialization and Enterprise Development Adan Mohamed has said. 

Speaking when he led a team of Government officials in touring the OSTIM Industrial Region in Ankara Turkey, Mr. Mohamed said since SMEs play a crucial role in Kenya’s development they will be allocated sufficient facilities so that the small businesses can support the growing needs for the sector and create employment. 

The OSTIM region in Turkey is one of the largest and most important small and medium-sized industrial production areas, and combines production flexibility with the advantages of a large machine park. OSTIM produces in 17 main sectors, houses 5,000 enterprises spread over 5 million square meters and employs over 50,000 people. Key sectors include textiles, leather, urban furniture, machine equipment and automotives.

Mr. Mohamed said the trip to Turkey will enable the Government address challenges the sector in Kenya is facing including standards, capacity and lack of market. It will also draw experiences from world class regions such as OSTIM to address historical issues that affect the Sector.

“Work sites have been a problem in the past and the integrated park will address this problem initially for the Leather Sector SMEs,” said Mr. Mohamed.

Last year, the Kenyan Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Small and Medium Enterprises Organization of Turkey to support growth of the Sector during President Uhuru Kenyatta’s visit.

The Ministry of Industrialization announced this month the launch of the Leather Industrial City that is slated for ground breaking in February 2015.

General Motors East Africa obtains the Occupation Health & Safety Assessment Series certification

The Certification Manager at SGS Kenya Limited, Mr. Kioko Ndolo, presents an Occupation Health & Safety Assessment Series certificate to General Motors East Africa MD, Rita Kavashe

General Motors East Africa (GMEA) has been certified as an Occupation Health and Safety Assessment Series (OHSAS 18001:2007) compliant organisation.

The automotive manufacturer becomes one of the few organisations in Kenya to be awarded all the three certifications, which include Quality, Environment and Occupational Health and Safety.

GMEA Managing Director Rita Kavashe noted that the processes and standards that are learned and implemented during the OHSAS 18001:2007 evaluation process allow the firm to develop more sustainable health and safety management systems.

“We are especially proud of this designation because the certification of compliance recognizes that the policies, practices and procedures ensure continuous health and safety process at our plant. Occupational health and safety is at the heart of all our process, and we believe that the lessons learned throughout the certification process will be highly beneficial to our entire organization,” said Kavashe.

The OHSAS 18001:2007 is an international standard that is developed by the OHSAS project Group, an association that includes government agencies, certification bodies, national standards, industry associations and consultants.

OHSAS 18001 has been developed to be compatible with ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 management systems standards, in order to facilitate the integration.

It provides a framework for an organization to identify and control its health and safety risks, reduce the potential for accidents, comply with legislation and improve operational performance.

Kavashe said the OHSAS 18001 certification will strengthen the existing health and safety process in the plant and act as a building block to compliance with corporate and legal requirements of health and safety.