Nairobi building approvals in rebound as calm returns
What you need to know:
- Value of investments expected to go up as State launches low-cost housing projects
- No projects were approved in August, September and October 2017 as Kenya went to the polls that saw the approval committee disbanded.
- Nairobi has been attracting local and foreign direct investments in residential housing projects especially for the high-end market
Nairobi’s construction sector registered a 71 per cent rebound with Sh60.1 billion projects approved this year compared to Sh35 billion August to December 2017 approvals.
The latest economic indicators released by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) that captures the first three months shows investors specifically sought to inject Sh36.85 billion into residential developments compared to Sh23.55 billion during the August (election month) to December in 2017.
While investments in residential developments could indicate a scramble by investors out to cash in on the 200,000 annual housing deficit gap in Nairobi, KNBS observed that non-residential development registered Sh23.25 billion injection being an 11.56 per cent rise over last year’s Sh11.66 billion.
Sh13.1bn projects
January registered Sh13.1 billion projects up from Sh10.8 billion in the same month last year with February bringing in Sh11 billion compared to Sh11.2 billion a similar period in 2017. Some Sh12.8 billion was injected in March against Sh11.76 billion (March 2017).
Nairobi has been attracting local and foreign direct investments in residential housing projects especially for the high-end market,
However, the low end sector could enjoy a Sh6.5 billion boom starting next month when the government launches multi-storied apartments’ development in Parklands, Nairobi.
No projects were approved in August, September and October 2017 as Kenya went to the polls that saw the approval committee disbanded.
