US firm signs $25m contract for Kenya's smart city project

Tetra Tech Inc will oversee development of phase 1 of Konza city following the signing of a contract between them and Konza Technopolis Development Authority (KoTDA).

Colorado-based Tetra Tech was selected as the Master Delivery Partner 2 (MDP2) in Kenya’s smart city construction project. The MDP2 consortium comprises 11 firms from Netherlands, UAE, US, Germany and five firms from Kenya.

The consortium is expected to develop a masterplan-level design of the city. They will also identify and structure financing for sustainable options to the city, as well as deliver a project-to-scale construction management.

Konza city is expected to drive Kenya’s trade and investments and create employment for many people in Kenya (20,000 by 2015). It will entail construction of light assembly manufacturing facilities, call and data centres, BPO and software development facilities, and disaster recovery centres. Located along the Nairobi-Mombasa highway, 60 km south-east of 
Nairobi, Konza city project is expected to cost US$14.5bn.

Kenya Power has already provided power to the site to enhance construction of Phase 1. The power would enable pumping water from boreholes to help develop initial infrastructure, greening the city, construction of verticals. A dam, Thwake dam, is being set up as a permanent water solution for the city and is expected to be completed in 2018.
Read the full article here: http://constructionreviewonline.com/2014/08/18/tetra-tech-signs-us25m-contract-phase-1-konza-city/