Kamuthi’s Buffalo Hills back on course

Construction of the gatehouse in progress at Buffalo Hills and Golf Village. PHOTO | ERIC WAINAINA

What you need to know:

  • Electricity and water connection and the construction of the gatehouse, which has two entrance/exit levels, with the construction of a second dam  also underway.
  • The project will also feature a nine-hole golf course on 108 acres; a clubhouse next to a man-made dam on  9.5 acres within the Golf Village with a swimming pool, game rooms, sauna, gym and spa among, others.

Work on a multibillion gated community project that is expected to transform a stretch of semi-arid land in Kilimambogo in Thika, Kiambu County, has resumed after the developer, Kamuthi Housing Co-operative Society, overcame turbulent times that cast doubts on the project’s future.

Buffalo Hills and Golf Village, which is part of the firm’s 1,233-acre project, is estimated to be worth Sh4.5 billion, of which about Sh1.2 billion  is expected to cater for infrastructural development.

The ambitious project had stalled for nearly two years after the firm ran into financial problems  following a decline in sales, making it impossible to service bank loans or to carry out infrastructural improvements.

The society’s treasurer, Mr Moses Ngotho, says it received a shot in the arm  after members responded positively to a  resolution to make additional payments for their plots, adding that they have now prepaid the loan obligation by seven months.

After stabilising its financial position, the firm has  resumed the construction of infrastructural developments, and has received a major boost with the  construction of two major roads in the area, which have improved accessibility to the area.

LUXURY LIFESTYLE

“We have also been able to resume the activities that will help us achieve our mission of having a modern gated community, and this has also restored our relationship with banks, which have also supported the society’s other crucial obligations,” Mr Ngotho said.

The society is  building 16 kilometres of tarmacked streets within Buffalo Hills, which sits on 355 acres, with a solar-powered perimeter fence reinforced with kei-apple already 80 per cent done. In addition, it is installing solar-powered street lights and also hopes to undertake extensive tree planting.

Upon completion, the project, which is located on a plain dotted with acacia trees, will host nearly 6,000 homes and commercial facilities built on quarter- and half-acre plots within the Golf Village, and on one-eighth acre plots outside the village.

The project is located 7.5 kilometres east of the Thika Superhighway and about a kilometre west of the Greater Eastern Bypass, which connects the area to Mombasa Road.

According to Kamuthi chairman Mr Bernard Maina, the roads are 60 per cent done, with the preparation of their surfaces  for tarmacking and other developments estimated to cost Sh250 million.

Electricity and water connection and the construction of the gatehouse, which has two entrance/exit levels, with the construction of a second dam  also underway.

The project will also feature a nine-hole golf course on 108 acres; a clubhouse next to a man-made dam on  9.5 acres within the Golf Village with a swimming pool, game rooms, sauna, gym and spa among, others.

To ease the burden of developing of the golf course, the society, through a resolution, agreed to allow  a strategic partner to take over the responsibility for its development,  but in accordance with the initial plan.

The society’s  secretary, Mr Eliud Njoroge, says local and foreign investors have shown interest in developing the golf course and clubhouse which, he said, could be done through an outright sale or in partnership with the devel.

Mr Njoroge said the arrangement is expected to reduce the society’s financial needs and also speed up its completion.

“The development of the golf course and clubhouse by the potential investor and the improvement of the infrastructure by the society will spur development by investors who might have been reluctant to develop their plots,” he said.

CONTROLLED DEVELOPMENT

The main challenges include inaccessibility to the project due to bad roads and the availing of title deeds for the plots resulting from the subdivision, which has been

According to the officials, the ongoing construction of the Mangu-Komo Road that links the Thika Superhighway to the proposed Greater Eastern Bypass through the project is a boon since it has enhanced accessibility to the area. So far, Mr Maina says, about half the plots within the Golf Village have been sold while the remaining are still on offer, with half- and quarter-acre plots going for Sh5 million and Sh3 million respectively.

Outside the Golf Village, the society is selling one-eighth  plots for between Sh400,000 and Sh1.2 million, depending on the location.

Development within the project will be controlled, although buyers are not restricted regarding the house design, as long as it has been approved by the society and the residents’ association.

To help the members develop their plots, the firm’s in-house Sacco, Kamuthi Savings and Credit Co-operative Society, has started lending them money at a 1 per cent annual interest rate, with their title deeds, ballots and share certificates serving as security.

At the moment, the Sacco  can lend  Sh2.5 million to each member who qualifies but the housing society is planning to increase its shareholding and deposits in the Sacco with a view to enabling the Sacco to be in a position to lend members enough cash to build houses.