KCB staff fund to put up Sh2.1bn office block
KCB staff Judy Odhiambo and Jane Pepeno admire the model of KCB Plaza that will be located at Upper Hill in Nairobi. It will have sky gardens and will cost 2.1 billion shillings. PHOTO/ Fredrick Onyango
The KCB staff pension fund and retirement scheme has began building a 21-storey office block in Nairobi’s Upper Hill neighbourhood at a cost of Sh2.1 billion.
The bank has already said that it would move its head offices from Kencom House in the city centre to the new building.
Rental proceeds would go to the fund and the scheme.
With the move, the bank will join a growing list of companies that have moved out of the city centre to Upper Hill area.
KCB chairman Peter Muthoka on Monday said the city centre is no longer an ideal location for business due to security concerns, congestion and uncontrolled traffic.
The building will have 450 parking slots and a total rentable space of 171,801 square feet — much bigger than space the bank currently occupies at Kencom House.
“The space we shall vacate at Kencom House will be rented out for additional income,” Mr Muthoka said during the ground-breaking ceremony.
He said the building, expected to be ready by January 2013, would adopt green architecture to support ongoing global efforts to curb waste of energy and other resources.
It is designed to use natural light, have a wastewater treatment plant and incorporate efficient energy consumption, including solar energy.
