According to information obtained exclusively by the Indian Ocean Newsletter, President Uhuru Kenyatta is bringing pressure to bear on the government to ensure a return on his family’s property investments.
His family having invested in the construction of Northlands City, a mixed-use development on a 11,800-acre plot budgeted at Sh 500 Billion ($5 billion), the president recently ordered the transport minister James Macharia to prioritise the allocation of funds for the extension of the Nairobi Eastern Bypass according to the publication.
Macharia is now seeking to identify companies with the capacity to construct this bypass, which will serve Northlands City and hence increase the value of the presidential family’s property assets there. The bypass will also connect the Mombasa trunk road with the Thika highway. The Kenyatta family’s choice of location for its property development is astute, since it lies between the centre of Nairobi and Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
Construction of the multi-billion city at the Kahawa Sukari area has already began according to various media reports. Last year, the family applied for approvals to build a mixed use development on the 11,800-acre ranch that currently hosts Brookside Dairy and Peponi schools.
Northlands New Town development, which is located at a prime location has already overshadowed the Sh 240 Billion controversial Tatu City which is just few kilometers away. Tatu City has over the last couple of years been caught up in court cases and issues, which has made the project to delay.
Once completed, Northlands New Town is expected to house 270,000 residents. The project has 3,570 acres set aside for residential housing including low density residential (3,134 acres), high density residential (306 acres) and medium density residential (130 acres). The project will also include a commercial space, a central business district, schools, industrial area and an agricultural zone.