• Occupants have been given a 30-year period to pay Sh 3 million
• Current 48 tenants to be given first priority once houses are completed
Image: EZEKIEL AMING'A
The Nairobi county government affordable housing project, part of the Urban Renewal and Housing Regeneration Programme, is expected to kick off on Friday.
The county intends to use 12.5 acres in Pangani valued at Sh4 billion to build 14 storey buildings, a major development in low-cost housing in Nairobi.
The project will renew old estates, optimize land use, improve the aesthetic appeal of houses and provide basic amenities in accordance with the Sessional Paper 1 of 2018 on Urban Regeneration Policy.
The current tenants who have moved out to give room for the project got the privilege to choose houses they will occupy once the project is complete.
One key element of the project is affordability.
The houses are intended to be reasonably adequate in standard and location for lower or middle income households.
Public participation was done on January 29 at Charter Hall where views from the public and stakeholders were gathered and taken into consideration.
Once the project is complete, each unit will cost Sh3 million. The county government has given a 30-year period for occupants to repay with a negotiated monthly rent of Sh8,000.
The units will consist of one, two and three bedroom houses.
The houses are said to be highly subsidized by the county government, with a state waiver on taxes making them affordable.
All the 48 tenants who previously occupied the houses were each given Sh600,000 to pay one year rent in whichever part of the city they chose to relocate to pave way for construction.
The main titles will remain with the county government but sub-leases will be created.
The project will promote local products as it was decided that at least 60 per cent of building materials should be local.
Unemployed youths will get work in the project as 90 per cent of labour should be local.
Open spaces in the old estate will be used for social events, gatherings and relaxation as highlighted in the Sessional Paper 1 of 2018 on the Urban Regeneration Policy.
The project will also be designed in a way that maximizes water collection, conservation, storage, treatment, recycling and re-use.
The buildings are designed to harness solar power for street lighting, water heating and other domestic use.
Technofin Kenya is the company which will oversee the construction of 1,434 units over a period of one year.
The firms is among six that were awarded multibillion-shilling tenders to construct affordable houses in Nairobi.
The other firms - Green Ederman Property, Green Prestik, Jabavu Village, Stanlib Kenya and Directline Assurance Limited - will put up more than 8,000 units across the city.
Twenty-six developers had expressed interest in the redevelopment of the estates.
The developers had indicated that their contract allots 40 per cent of units to be sold at market rate leaving 60 per cent as low-cost housing.
This was after realizing that the 30:70 rates as provided for in the policy is unrealistic and could therefore not provide affordable houses.
The affordable housing programme is part of the government’s efforts to reduce the housing backlog that currently stands at 2 million.
It is anticipated that 200,000 units will be built annually in line with President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Big Four agenda.