New look of Nairobi’s old estates boost to city image

Nairobi County is set to demolish old buildings in several city estates to give way for modern highrise developments. The upgrade will cost Sh60 billion.

The modernisation project will affect several estates built in the 1970s. The envisaged high-rise housing units will have modern features, including recreational facilities.

“Most of these estates were developed long time ago and are therefore in poor conditions. Majority of them are also low-rise occupying extensive parcels of land, which can be optimised by erecting middle-income highrise apartments in line with city planning regulations,” said Nairobi Governor Dr Evans Kidero.

Some of the estates have have low-rise buildings occupying as much as 46.35 acres.

Projections indicate that Nairobi City’s population will have grown to eight million by 2020. According to John Maoga, a former city planning officer, exemplary cities have always put in place measures for future growth. Nairobi being East Africa’s gateway and economic hub, he said, requires a clear plan to allow future infrastructural developments to accommodate these people.

“Major cities in the world are majorly defined by real estate mega trends, thus proper planning is necessary to accommodate new trends in terms of architecture, orderliness and flexible structures,” said Maoga.

“City planners normally put into consideration growth projections when designing the cities. However, there is a natural tendency by authorities to underestimate some of these highlights and Nairobi is a good example,” he said.

long overdue

Some argue that modernising Nairobi was long overdue owing to the fact that the city accounts for nearly 60 per cent of Kenya’s gross domestic product and nearly half of the labour force in the country are situated in the city. It is therefore necessary for the county government to follow proper planning to accommodate the growing population.

“For the city to remain competitive, it should have proper infrastructure and quality housing,” said Maoga. Some city residents have remained skeptical about the project, although negotiations with those to be affected are ongoing. Some, however, have welcomed the idea.

Luke Otieno, who lives in Old Ngara, which is among the estates to be upgraded, said the move is a positive one despite the fact that they will be forced to relocate.

“We welcome the move since it is meant to change our standard of living. It is also good for future generations and it will also change the face of the city,” said Otieno.

Although the initiative is full of challenges both social and political, it will take the Kibra slum upgrading route, which added 822 housing units to the market.

Some of the estates that are going to be re-developed are Bachelors/Jevanjee, Ngong Road, Old and New Bahati, Ziwani, Makongeni, Kaloleni, Shauri Moyo, Jericho and Mbotela. Others are Pangani, Uhuru, New Ngara and Suna Road.

“We can balance the need for more spaces for buildings and homes while protecting our heritage buildings, parks and wildlife, and the lifestyle we love,” said Maoga.