Athi River is a town outside

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city prope ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

Machakos County Machakos County is one of the 47 counties of Kenya, which came into being because of the devolved system of governance occasioned by the 2010 constitution of Kenya. The country's first administrative headquarters are in Machakos Town, which is ...

. The town is named after the Athi River, which passes through. It is also known as Mavoko. Athi River hosts the Mavoko Municipal Council and is the headquarters of Mavoko division, which is part of

. The town's population is 81,302 (2019 census), and it is still growing due to its proximity to the Kenyan capital city of

Metropolitan area

Athi River is part of the Greater Nairobi Metropolitan area.

History

Athiriver also known as Mavoko was carved off the ''Nairobi County Council'' in 1963, when the latter was disbanded. Mavoko municipality has six wards (Athi River West, Katani, Kinanie/Mathani, Makadara, Muthwani and Sophia). All these wards belong to Mavoko constituency, which has a total of ten wards. The remaining four wards are within Masaku County Council.Electoral Commission of Kenya
''Registration centres by electoral area and constituency''

Industry

The town is relatively industrialised for Kenya. There are six cement factories located within the town:

Bamburi Cement Bamburi Cement Limited is an industrial company in Kenya specialising in cement and concrete. The company has operations in Bamburi suburb of Mombasa, it is headquartered in Nairobi and its stock is listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange. ...

Mombasa Cement Mombasa Cement Limited (MCL) is an industrial company in Kenya specializing in the manufacture of construction materials. The company maintains its headquarters in the city of Mombasa and has offices and warehouses in Nairobi, with manufactu ...

, East Africa Portland Cement Company, Savannah Cement,

National Cement National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

and

Athi River Mining ARM Cement Limited, formerly Athi River Mining Limited, but commonly referred to as ARM is a mining and manufacturing company in Kenya, the largest economy in the East African Community. The company is headquartered in Nairobi and its stock is li ...

. The town is home to a chewing gum factory owned by the

Wrigley Company The Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, known as the Wrigley Company, is an American multinational chewing gum (Wrigley's gum) company, based in the Global Innovation Center (GIC) in Goose Island, Chicago, Illinois. Wrigley's is wholly owned by Mars, I ...

. There are also other notable companies within the town's outskirts such as Doshi Steel, Mabati Rolling Mills, Seed Co., Kapa Oil Refineries and Devki Steel.

Business

Athi River is ambient with sprouting businesses. Some of the most notable businesses include th
Coloho Mall
Crystal Rivers Safaricom Mall, Trailink Logistics and the Wattle Blossom Retreat Centre. Some of the factors influencing the rapid growth of businesses in the area include the increased real estate development in the region and the proximity to Nairobi City and mining companies.

Education

The

Daystar University Daystar is a Christian liberal arts university in Nairobi. Daystar's original campus is close to Nairobi city centre, but there was no room to expand at that location. Therefore, in 1992 a new campus was built at Athi River, some 40 km to ...

has a campus in the town.

Transport

Athi River has a railway station built in 1920 along the

Uganda Railway The Uganda Railway was a metre-gauge railway system and former British state-owned railway company. The line linked the interiors of Uganda and Kenya with the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa in Kenya. After a series of mergers and splits, the li ...

, from

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

Kisumu Kisumu ( ) is the third-largest city in Kenya after the capital, Nairobi, and the coastal city of Mombasa (census 2019). It is the third-largest city after Kampala and Mwanza in the Lake Victoria Basin. Apart from being an important politic ...

. There is also a new railway station on the

Mombasa–Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway The Mombasa–Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway is a standard-gauge railway (SGR) in Kenya that connects the large Indian Ocean city of Mombasa with Nairobi, the country's capital and largest city. This SGR runs parallel to the narrow-gauge Uganda R ...

. Athi River is also linked to Nairobi via the Nairobi-Mombasa Highway (commonly known as Mombasa Road), a tarmacked dual carriageway, and to nearby

Kitengela Kitengela is a municipality in the Kajiado County of Kenya, located 50 Kilometres south of the capital Nairobi, forming part of the greater Metropolitan Area. Kitengela begun as The Kitengela group ranch, made up of 18,292 ha and 214 registered ...

by Namanga Road, a tarmacked single carriageway. Residents of Athi River are served by Routes 110 and 120 to the Nairobi CBD.

References

Daily Nation The ''Daily Nation'' is the highest circulation Kenyan independent newspaper with 170,000 copies. History The ''Daily Nation'' was started in the year 1958 as a Swahili weekly called ''Taifa'' by the Englishman Charles Hayes. It was bought ...

, 21 August 2000
''Town touched by tragedy''

External links

Mavoko Municipal Council
{{DEFAULTSORT:Athi River (Town) Populated places in Eastern Province (Kenya) Athi-Galana-Sabaki River