Nakuru County Government has prioritised development of housing stocks in the city and its urban areas, Governor Susan Kihika has said.
She said the current target for affordable housing within the cosmopolitan city stood at 10,000 units, besides the 605 that were launched by President William Ruto in Bondeni.
Speaking during the handover of the Bondeni Affordable Housing Project officiated by President Ruto, Kihika said another 10,000 units of affordable housing will be constructed in different areas of the vast county.
The governor said her administration had completed the design and specifications for another 3,000 units to be built within the city of Nakuru.
She said out of 605 houses in the Bondeni project, 484 units, which account for 80 per cent were set aside for sale to interested citizens under the Affordable Housing programme while the remaining 212 units were reserved for civil servants under the Civil Service Mortgage Scheme.
The housing project comprised 45 one-bedroom houses, which have been sold for Sh1.55 million, 180 two-bedroom units selling for Sh3.15 million each, and 380 three-bedroom houses, which are going for Sh4.25 million per unit.
“This handover marks the beginning of residents of Nakuru becoming house owners of low-cost houses under the Affordable Housing Programme,” she said.
Kihika recounted that the President laid the foundation stone for the construction of 220 affordable houses in Bahati subcounty adding that similar projects were ongoing in Elburgon area of Molo subcounty.
“They form Phase One of the subcounties Affordable Housing in Nakuru County, which targets the construction of at least 220 housing units in each sub-county,” she said
The governor said her administration had identified appropriate sites that would help spur urban development in the respective neighbourhoods as part of her agenda for urban regeneration from villages to towns.
She added that the Nakuru County Government, in collaboration with the State Department of Housing, advertised the first lot of 2,000 units to be built in Naivasha.
Governor Kihika said the Naivasha Smart City Affordable Housing Project in Viwandani, which will involve the construction of 1,300 housing units, was at the tendering stage.
“The County Government has also acquired land for Phase Two of the Affordable Housing Project for Njoro, Gilgil and Rongai constituencies, where we plan to construct at least 160 housing units in each area,” she said.
The President said the Affordable Housing Project has created more than 120,000 jobs adding that the number will have more than doubled next year when 300,000 people will be employed through it.
“The direct employees of this project include engineers, architects, designers, surveyors, masons, plumbers, and un-skilled labourers,” he said.
Ruto, who was accompanied by a host of leaders during his development tour of Nakuru county, 20,000 houses were set to be built in the region through the Affordable Housing Project.
