• Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya said public servants will be given priority during the allocation of the units.
• Public servants will get 70 per cent of the houses. The remaining 30 per cent will go to members of the public.
The Kakamega government on Wednesday launched a Sh8 billion affordable housing project.
The county government has partnered with Pinnie Agency Limited, a private developer, to construct more than 3,000 housing units.
The developer signed a joint venture agreement with the county.
Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya said public servants will be given priority during the allocation of the units. They will get 70 per cent of the houses. The remaining 30 per cent will go to members of the public.
Oparanya said the project will be instrumental in upgrading Kakamega town to city status in the next one to two years.
"As we work towards elevating Kakamega Municipality to a city, we have to ensure correct measures are put in place in various sectors such as housing, infrastructure, water, sanitation and sewerage," he said.
Oparanya said public servants will access the houses through a mortgage scheme, while members of the public will be allowed to buy and/or rent the houses to generate income for the government.
"These houses will stabilise rent in Kakamega and other urban centres and reduce exploitation of tenants by private homeowners," he said.
He urged the contractor to source building materials and labour locally.
Development Consortium and Pinnie Agency Limited Group Shem Tai chairman said the project had been cleared by Nema.
He said they will also construct 54 (four and five bedroom) houses in Lubao, 702 mixed units in Old Airport and 602 mixed development units in Mumias Triangle in Mumias Municipality.
Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology deputy vice chancellor for Planning, Research and Innovation Prof Charles Mutai said once completed, the project will provide a housing solution to MMUST students, teaching and non-teaching staff.
The event was attended by senior government officers from both levels of government and other key project partners.
Edited by A.N