City Hall to construct 40,000 houses in old estates
A worker at affordable housing units under construction at Pangani Redevelopment Site in this photo taken on January 21, 2022. Out of the eight estates that were to be developed, only two have been developed. They include Pangani and Jeevanjee.
The Nairobi City County government has invited public participation for the construction of 40,000 affordable housing units under the Nairobi regeneration and urban renewal programme.
The housing programme will target 13 old estates including Bahati, Bondeni, Buruburu, Embakasi, Huruma, Jericho, Kariobangi North, Kariobangi South, Lumumba, Maringo, Suna Road Market, Woodley and Ziwani.
The public participation exercise will seek among other things to address challenges such as the relocation of tenants during the renewal phase and the impacts of the projects on the environment, among other issues.
Nairobi governor Johnson Sakaja has said the projects will create employment as well as help city residents access affordable houses.
“The affordable housing projects that we are undertaking as a county government will give the people of Nairobi dignity. The investors will also be able to reap their investment as well as create job opportunities for the youths in Nairobi,” Mr Sakaja said.
Under the City Hall affordable housing plan, Bahati will get 9,000 housing units, Maringo 4,000 units, Jericho 6,000 units, Ziwani 2,500 units, Bondeni 700 units, Kariobangi North 2,250 units, Embakasi 2,500 units and Woodley 3,500 units. Construction in the rest of the estates will begin after the completion of the second phase.
Eight estates
The county government initiated the first phase of the project in June 2020 and out of the eight estates that were to be developed, only two have been developed. They include Pangani and Jeevanjee.
Mr Sakaja has blamed the lack of proper documentation for the failure of other projects and promised to fast-track them.
According to the Nairobi City County proposed budgets for the financial year 2023/2024, the Built Environment and Urban Planning sector has received an allocation of Sh358 million.
Out of this amount, the urban development and planning will receive Sh298 million while the land sector is to get Sh30 million.
The Housing and Urban Renewal has been allocated Sh30 million.
After the completion of Phase two of the project, 70 percent of the affordable housing units will be sold at between Sh1.5 million and Sh3.5 million while the remaining 30 percent will be developed to target middle and high-income households.
The defunct Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) had towards the end of last year sought to begin the second phase of the urban renewal programme but it was met with opposition from the residents who complained about the lack of public participation.
