Kilifi county will have two small cities in the planned affordable housing programme.
According to Kilifi county commissioner Josphat Biwott, the two mini cities will be put up in Mtwapa and Mariakani.
Speaking on Monday after meeting the affordable housing programme committee from the Housing department in Kilifi, Biwott said some 50 acres have already been set aside in Mtwapa for the construction of the small towns.
“We have chosen Mtwapa and Mariakani because we already have government land in the two areas. This is a partnership between the national and the county government,” Biwott said.
The county will have a total of 10,000 affordable housing units across all the seven constituencies.
“Each constituency will have at least one affordable housing programme. The land ownership issues have already been sorted and by Tuesday we will put up adverts for contractors to bid,” he said
The county has identified 11 sites where the units will be constructed.
“We have sites in Tezo, Bofa and Kibarani which are in Kilifi north and then Sir Ali bin Salim in Malindi. We are starting with Kilifi north which is where we have the county headquarters because of the demand for housing,” he added
He said the 10,000 units will need a labour force of more than 20,000 for both skilled and unskilled.
“Apart from the labour force, we will also loop in the jua kali sector where we expect to get services by over 20,000 artisans,” he added
Kilifi County Jua Kali Association chairman Kombo Charo said the sector is well prepared for the programme in terms of their skills and manpower.
“This project is long overdue. We are ready to implement it. We are glad the county government is willing to support us,” Charo said.
