Isiolo Airport a game changer in Northern Kenya

The terminal building of Isiolo Airport taken on January 18, 2017. PHOTO | PHOEBE OKALL

What you need to know:

  • He says among the proposals received is one for the construction of 1,000 low-cost housing units for middle-income earners who will be employed at the airport.
  • He says the availability of idle land in Isiolo and Nyambene towns has seen all kinds of proposals for the establishment of resort centres by private developers.
  • Vision 2030 has identified Isiolo as a gateway to realising economic growth for the arid northern Kenya that will link Isiolo Town with Mombasa, Nairobi and Kisumu. 

The property markets in Isiolo and neighbouring Meru County expect to flourish following the Sh2.7 billion upgrade of Isiolo Airport.

Indeed, Isiolo County Commissioner George Natembeya says his office  has received numerous proposals from investors anticipating an increase in land prices once the airport becomes fully operational.

He says among the proposals received is one for the construction of 1,000 low-cost housing units for middle-income earners who will be employed at the airport.

“We have approved that proposal and the investor is already on the ground near the airport. We are also reviewing other proposals on the establishment of mini shopping malls as well as other commercial buildings at strategic points in this county,” he says.

He notes that since the construction of the airport began, rents have recorded a 20 per cent increase, which he described as “a good thing for our landlords, who for decades had very unstable expansion prospects in earnings.”

SUBSIDIARY INDUSTRIES

Mr Natembeya anticipates that at least Sh5 billion worth of new buildings will be constructed by 2020, thereby improving the county’s fortunes in real estate.

 He, however, says there is concern about the influx of land brokers, who have pitched camp in Isiolo Town and its environs and entrenching themselves in nearby counties like Meru and Tharaka Nithi.

He says the availability of idle land in Isiolo and Nyambene towns has seen all kinds of proposals for the establishment of resort centres by private developers.

 “So intense is land speculation in the area that within two years, a quarter of an acre in the far-flung areas of the county has shot up from Sh15,000 to between Sh100,000 and Sh250, 000,” he says, adding that a prime quarter acre near the town now costs Sh1.5 million, up from Sh300,000.

“As the construction of the airport progressed, land speculators started positioning themselves to build houses and hotels as well as other recreation centres to serve the government employees and other job seekers who will undoubtedly flock the area,” he says.

He adds  that the opening up of the area will incorporate subsidiary industries such as agriculture, banking, housing and the arts.

He notes that  Isiolo and the nearby Nyambene Town are being touted as the local version of the famed  US city,Las Vegas City, a result of the vibrancy expected following the completion of the airport.

The establishment of recreational centres will add to the facilities in  Isiolo, which is part of the northern tourism circuit and is centrally located between a number of game parks including the Meru National Park, Samburu National Reserve, Shaba Game Reserve, Kora National Park, Mwingi National Reserve and the Bisanadi National Reserve. To the North of Isiolo are the  Marsabit National Reserve and Sibiloi National Park.

DIRECT INVESTMENT

Currently, the region has few tourism facilities, notably the Sarova Shaba located in the Shaba Game Reserve and Buffalo Springs Lodges located in the Samburu National Reserve.

Vision 2030 has identified Isiolo as a gateway to realising economic growth for the arid northern Kenya that will link Isiolo Town with Mombasa, Nairobi and Kisumu. 

A member of the Vision 2030 Secretariat, Mr Peter Gakunu, says the direct investment opportunities in the area lie in the construction of resorts, complete with casinos, as well as international filming facilities with the trappings of good living.

The ongoing construction of the 501 km Isiolo-Moyale Highway that links Kenya to Ethiopia is also expected to contribute significantly to the real estate market in the area. So far 136 kilometres — from Isiolo to Merelle — of the road has been completed.

Also planned are a railway line, pipeline and  highway linking Kenya and Juba in South Sudan.