Developer frustrated after Sh2bn project stopped in Nairobi

Who is frustrating a developer in an upmarket area in Nairobi? The man was overheard complaining that a powerful individual is hindering his plans to construct a petrol station in the area. The developer says he has all that is needed to put up the station with a shopping mall, but a powerful individual has stopped his Sh2 billion project. The said individual reportedly fears competition, having similar businesses near the site. The developer is now allegedly stranded with the money he had borrowed, ready for the start of the project, with no help coming from the offices he has been running to intervene.

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Still on development in the same area, a developer shocked a seller of a piece of land when he paid more than Sh600 million in cash. The developer plans to construct apartments and has since spent almost Sh1 billion in getting approvals for the project alone. Many in the industry are reportedly shocked and are raising questions about whether the money was from a bank or individuals. Talk of 'luck'. The man behind the project is said to be a new millionaire in town.

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A first-term county boss from one of the country’s most endowed agricultural belts is having sleepless nights. He has suddenly taken to making frantic late-night calls to his finance chief in a bid to “put out a fire” after word filtered through that auditors are planning a visit to check stalled infrastructure projects. For months, the governor has blamed the delays on bad weather and errant contractors, but residents whisper that the only thing that has rained heavily is politics. Expect a flurry of hurried groundbreaking ceremonies in the coming days as he scrambles to clean up the optics.

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People around a popular address are rolling their eyes at a first-term lawmaker, who’s supposedly still telling anyone within earshot that he single-handedly delivered last November’s by-election victory in his county. Staffers say he’s repeated the story so many times that even his own team ducks into side corridors to avoid another retelling. Other MPs whisper that the win had far more to do with other factors than the lawmaker’s 'legendary strategy', but he keeps basking in the imagined glory.

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