Nairobi Securities Exchange infrastructure firm, TransCentury is set to set up a Sh30 billion housing unit in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Last week, AEA Limited, a subsidiary of TransCentury PLC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Symbion Architect to construct housing units for Office Conglais De Controle (OCC) staff.
Valued at $250 million (Sh29.9 billion), the project is set to provide affordable housing to 5,000 staff and their families.
According to TransCentury Group CEO Nganga Njiinu, AEA will be the EPC project contractor responsible for mobilising all the construction equipment at the project site, procuring, health and safety on site and executing all construction works in line with approved designs.
“In DRC the current supply of housing and basic services does not match the rising demand for affordable housing. We have stepped in as the consortium to work with like-minded partners for the project to assist in alleviating the issue,'' Njiinu said.
He added that the project will employ thousands of workers until its completion and there will be a huge value chain that will benefit within the vicinity with employment opportunities.
"TransCentury has been doing business in DRC since 2011 and we are happy to see other Kenyan businesses coming into the market,'' Njiinu said.
He said this is part of a strategy towards attaining World Bank's 2015 report projections on stocktaking of the housing sector in Sub-Saharan Africa.
In the report, it was projected that Africa could have as many as 1.2 billion urban dwellers by 2050.
It also foresaw 4.5 million new residents in informal settlements each year, most of whom cannot afford basic formal housing or access mortgage loans.
