The State Department of Housing and Urban Development and investment company Gulf Cap Africa Limited have today signed a Ksh13 billion deal for the construction of 6,704 affordable housing units in Starehe.
The project, will be done in 5 phases over a period of 36 months making it the biggest Affordable Housing Project undertaken by the Ministry this year in line with its goal to achieve the development of 200,000 housing units annually.
Speaking during ground breaking, Housing Cabinet Secretary Zacharia Mwangi Njeru lauded the project, adding that the development will not only provide affordable, inclusive homes for Kenyans but also create stimulus for local development through employment opportunities for the youth and women in the construction industry.
“We estimate that close to Ksh500 million of the project value will go towards creating value for the local MSMEs – with at least 50pc going towards women. In addition, the project will generate over 10,000 direct and indirect jobs, providing much needed income for our youth” said CS Njeru.
The proposed development will comprise 2,000 social housing units, and a total of 4704 one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom units. The holistic project will be complemented by the construction of social amenities such as swimming pools, food courts, green spaces, LPG and ICT connectivity among other supporting internal infrastructure such as cabro paved driveways.
“Part of the partnership will be the transformation of Starehe and its environs, including the upgrading of the Ziwani dispensary and local schools. This underlines our firm commitment, as a Ministry, to elevate people’s living standards and livelihoods by providing affordable, safe, sustainable and dignified communities,” added the CS.
Housing PS Charles Hinga said the project will include 2000 social houses for the lowest cadre of Kenyans and will retail at Ksh 1.155m while the two models of one bedroom units will retail at Ksh 1.65m and 1.980m, the two models of two bedroom units will go for Ksh 2.2m and Ksh 3.465m while the different models of 3 bedroom units will retail at Ksh 3.3m and Ksh 4.1m respectively.
The PS lauded BuildHer group for empowering women in construction through training saying women in the industry deserve better treatment going forward.
Speaking on behalf of Gulf Africa Chairman Suleiman Shabal thanked the Ministry of the partnership, saying the Affordable Housing dream would be fully realised by leveraging the power of Public Private Partnerships.
Via KBC
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