PROPERTYBRIEFS: Centum planning to build exclusive city on 9,500 acres in Kilifi County

An artist impression of Two Rivers mall at Gigiri, Limuru Road, Nairobi. PHOTO | COURTESY

What you need to know:

  • Regulatory filings show that the project will be developed in phases.

  • The first phase will see the company put up infrastructure on 900 acres of the land at a cost of Sh794.3 million.

Centum planning to build exclusive city on 9,500 acres in Kilifi County

NSE-listed investment company Centum has started preparations for the construction of an exclusive 9,500-acre  city in Kilifi County, extending ing its entry into high-end real estate development.

Centum, which is also behind the Two Rivers Mall, tipped to be Kenya’s biggest on completion, is building the city on land it bought last year from Rea Vipingo Holdings, a plantation firm that sold part of its land as it de-listed from the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).

Regulatory filings show that the project will be developed in phases. The first phase will see the company put up infrastructure on 900 acres of the land at a cost of Sh794.3 million.

It  has divided up the 900 acres, dubbed the economic hub, into different areas  including residential, commercial, industrial, institutional, recreational, and public zones.

High-end home prices recorded 2.9 pc growth in 2015

The prices of high-end homes in the country rose by 2.9 per cent in 2015, up from the 1.4 per cent recorded in 2014, according to a report by property management firm Knight Frank.

Underperformance by other investment classes such as equities helped raise the attractiveness of luxury homes in Nairobi to high net-worth individuals, fuelling the increase.

Demand also slightly exceeded supply for the very top-quality residential property, despite a recent increase in new builds.

The poor performance experienced in 2014 was blamed on high supply of luxury properties in Nairobi, leading to price stagnation, as well as successive terror by Somali militants Al-Shabaab.

Ernie and Campbell sues NHC for cancelling its Sh309million tender

Real estate developer Ernie & Campbell has sued the National Housing Corporation for cancelling a Sh319 million tender for a mixed development project in Kibera months after being awarded the deal.

The firm claims that NHC cancelled the tender in January using a section of the old procurement laws, which allowed the State corporation to cancel a tender. while investigating the evaluation process.

The Kibera project was to see the construction of 64 housing units comprising one, two and three bedrooms, a shopping centre and restaurants.

However, the NHC holds that it was forced to cancel the tender following irregularities in the procurement, as well as the price quoted by Ernie & Campbell, which the State corporation insists was “too high”.

The NHC says Ernie & Campbell was awarded the tender under the old tender laws, which is why it called off the deal using the 2005 Public Procurement and Disposal Act.

CIC to venture into real estate with Kiambu project

The CIC Group is set to venture into real estate with a Sh2.8 billion commercial and residential development on its 200-acre parcel of land in Kiambu County.

The mixed development will be launched mid this year after a property consultant currently on the ground completes work.

CIC will put up high-end, medium and studio apartments targeting the entry level market on land located next to Tatu city.

The management said that the diversification to property is in line with the company’s plan to safeguard investor funds from the volatility of the financial markets in which they had invested the bulk of their investor funds.