The deal includes a wide range of affordable housing options for families of all sizes and will create 10,000 direct and indirect jobs.
The Kenyan Ministry of Housing and Urban Development has signed a Ksh13 billion (USD 95 million) deal with investment firm Gulf Cap Africa Limited to construct 6,704 affordable housing units in Starehe.
Five phases
The project will be executed in five phases within 36 months, making it the largest affordable housing initiative undertaken by the Ministry this year, in line with its target to develop 200,000 housing units annually. The project will provide affordable and inclusive homes to Kenyans and stimulate local development by creating job opportunities for youths and women in the construction industry.
The proposed development will comprise 2,000 social housing units, in addition to 4,704 one-, two-, and three-bedroom units. The project will also feature the construction of social amenities such as swimming pools, food courts, green spaces, LPG and ICT connectivity, and supporting internal infrastructure like cabro paved driveways.
10,000 jobs
Housing Cabinet Secretary Zacharia Mwangi Njeru has praised the project, highlighting that it will transform Starehe and its environs, including the upgrading of the Ziwani dispensary and local schools, and elevate the living standards and livelihoods of Kenyans. The project is also set to generate over 10,000 direct and indirect jobs and provide much-needed income for the youth.
Housing PS Charles Hinga said that the project will include 2,000 social houses for the lowest cadre of Kenyans and will retail at Ksh 1.155m (USD 8,500). Meanwhile, the one-bedroom units will retail at Ksh 1.65m (USD 12,000) and 1.980m (USD 14,500), the two-bedroom units at Ksh 2.2m (USD 16,000) and Ksh 3.465m (USD 25,000), and the three-bedroom units at Ksh 3.3m (USD 24,000) and Ksh 4.1m, (USD 30,000) respectively. Hinga also lauded BuildHer Group for empowering women in construction through training and expressed optimism that women in the industry would receive better treatment going forward.
Gulf Africa Chairman Suleiman Shabal thanked the Ministry for the partnership, asserting that the affordable housing dream would be fully realised by leveraging the power of public-private partnerships.
Road projects across Kenya are set to impacted severely as the state owes over USD 1 billion in payments to contractors.