Mombasa plans to launch Sh200bn housing project in Sept

The Mombasa County government will do a groundbreaking for a Sh200 billion low-cost housing project in September, a county official has announced.

Land, Housing and Physical Planning executive Edward Dzila Nyale says the county has a housing deficit of 380, 000 units. The county plans to build 32,000 units in the next two years.

“Plans are underway to break ground at Mzizima where we will start the development of 600 units near the Kenya Medical Training College.

"We will construct 14 floors in this area instead of the initial 24. From the technical survey the ground can only support fourteen,” Mr Nyale said.

He said the estates earmarked for demolition and reconstruction in the first phase are Mzizima, Miritini Greenfields, Changamwe, Likoni (Flats and Customs) and Nyerere.

The second phase involves the redevelopment of 12,000 housing units in Tudor Mwisho, Buxton, Tom Mboya, Kaa Chonjo, Khadija and Kizingo estates as envisaged in the County’s Vision 2035.

Mr Nyale said the housing project is a key pillar in Vision 2035 and the county plans to have units in the said estates completed between 18-34 months.

He added that they will factor key establishments like playing grounds for children within the estates.

Vertical space

He said with the county’s limited 234 square kilometre area, they want to capitalise on the vertical space.

“We hope to have them done by the end of the five years. We want to build towers we want to go up. We had a lot of "wasted space" in the initial planning. There was no optimising of space.

"We want to have 15 storey duplexes in Likoni, 14 floors and 21 floor flats in Buxton for our people,” the Housing CEC said.

Mr Nyale added that in line with President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Big Four Agenda, the county's development blueprint seeks to create a vibrant economy with a focus on SMEs in a bid to create jobs for the youth and women.

He noted that the Goal Four on housing links well with Mombasa county’s endeavour to improve access to water and sanitation, create a sustainable environment and develop modern transport infrastructure.

He, however, noted that there was a challenge of encroachment of land and they have already dealt with in areas like Likoni and Buxton that the county has regained ownership.

He said they are also in talks with residents as they formulate ways of sheltering the currents residents ahead of the construction.

In areas like Tudor Mwisho, Mr Nyale noted that residents had to vacate the houses as a safety measure as they were inhabitable and condemned. He said Tudor Mwisho has one of the oldest houses in the county.

He said discussions are also on with the national government and private developers to fund the multibillion-shilling project.