The government of Kenya has unveiled plans to
construct 117,000 affordable houses to replace 15,000 old ones in an
infrastructure development plan sprawling 3,000 acres in Eastlands Estate,
Nairobi.
The multi-billion project dubbed ‘Eastlands Urban
Renewal Plan’ unveiled by the Ministry of Housing proposes to construct flats, bungalows, maisonettes and
recreational centres in the estate. The Ministry has therefore given
stakeholders 60 days to give their input concerning the project before being
adopted by the Nairobi County government for implementation.
In addition, the mega housing and infrastructure
project is in line with President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Big Four Agenda which seeks
to construct 1 million houses by 2022. According to the Ministry’s Principal
Secretary Charles Hinga, the project has already started in Parklands area
which will be linked as part of the elaborate revival of the area.
“In the spirit of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s big
four agenda we are moving with time to redevelop Eastlands to be in tandem with
the current plan to modernize Nairobi City,” said PS Hinga. Eastlands Estate
which was developed in the colonial times is occasioned with inadequate housing
and insufficient infrastructure with the majority of the city’s middle and
low-class citizens residing in the area.
Through the development plan, the project targets
18 estates including Ngara, Buruburu, Makadara, Kimathi, Eastleigh, Mbotela and
Majengo. The project will be funded by the national government, county
government, a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) and Kenya Mortgage Financing
Company. Other models to finance the project are foreign investors, tax
increment, tenant purchase schemes, Sacco’s purchase, and municipal bonds.
Hinga noted that during the project period the government will fund relocation options for those affected by the project. The revival plan will also see the redevelopment and expansion of health centres and roads in the estates to match the growing population.https://constructionreviewonline.com/2019/10/kenya-to-construct-117000-affordable-houses-in-redevelopment-plan/
