The Corporation commenced construction of its 2nd tea processing factory at Gatitu in Kirinyaga County in June, 2016. The factory project in the East of Rift was mooted to replicate the successful Kipchabo Tea Factory in Nandi County which processes tea from the Corporation’s plantations in the East of Rift. The Ground-breaking ceremony for construction of Gatitu Tea Factory was officiated by H.E. The Deputy President Hon. William Ruto. Civil works and other developments related to the project have been ongoing since then. The main objective of the Gatitu Factory project is to maximize the Corporation’s returns from green leaf while avoiding post-harvest losses which occur during flush periods. In addition, the factory will contribute to development of infrastructure such as roads and electricity. It will also have major impact on tea production in the area as farmers are expected to boost production because of easy access to the factory. Gatitu factory will be a three-line factory. The 1st line with an annual capacity of about 7 million Kgs of green leaf will process the Corporation’s tea from the catchment zones of Kirinyaga, Embu, Mathira and Meru South which have a combined hectarage of 675 ha. The second and third line will process tea from over 3,000 out growers in the catchment zones. The Factory will dedicate 60% of its processing to value addition by processing specialty and orthodox teas which fetch better prices in the markets.