Sakaja sets aside 3.000 acres for low-cost housing
Nairobi County Government has rolled out a plan of working together with the national administration towards realizing the affordable housing plan.
Governor Johnson Sakaja said his administration will set aside more than 3,000 acres to be used for development of the houses.
Sakaja said Nairobi will be the centre of President William Ruto’s dream of ensuring that everyone owns a decent house without having to cough up a lot of money.
While commissioning new houses in Mukuru, the Head of State said the 3,000 acres provided by the county government will be used to construct between 400,000 and 500,000 housing units that will support Nairobians.
The National Treasury allocated the affordable housing programme a budget of Sh27.2 billion in the current financial year. At the start of his second term, former President Uhuru Kenyatta announced the Big 4 Agenda, which included the construction of some 500,000 affordable housing units.
Financial muscle
The President asked governors to release land for the construction of the units, saying the National government will use its financial muscle to add amenities like water, sewage and roads. “We will start 5,000 units in every county going forward,” he said.
He said affordable housing cannot be achieved by the government alone, adding that his administration will ensure private developers get a market for the constructed units when they partner with the State.
As of September 28, last year, at least 2,235 affordable housing units had been occupied and construction was underway on many others, but nothing close to 500,000. Among the occupied units, 1,730 are at Park Road in Ngara, 250 in the Kisumu civil servants housing project, 152 in Machakos and 463 in Mavoko.
Nairobi currently has four ongoing projects for 21,642 units. The Pangani Housing Project which is being undertaken by the Nairobi Metropolitan Service is yet to be completed.
Once done, it will deliver 1,562 housing units from the land previously occupied by 48 tenants Also, the government is on course to set up 5,280 units at Clay City in Nairobi and a Sh850 million housing project in Kasarani that will see 284 units constructed. Construction is ongoing at the Jevanjee Estate formerly known as Bachelor Quarters. 1,900 units will be developed from land that was previously occupied by 81 houses.
