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22/09/2020

Kenya is set to begin construction of the Mombasa Gate Bridge project. Treasury acting Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yattani and the Japanese ambassador to Kenya, Ryoichi Horie, signed a loan agreement, paving the way for the construction of the bridge to begin in 2021.

The concessionary loan is payable in 28 years with a grace period of 12 years. The US $2bn bridge aims to facilitate traffic between the city of Mombasa, the South Coast and Kwale. Feasibility study for the project was completed in 2017, followed by environmental and social assessment which took two years paving way for the actual construction works.

Mombasa Gate Bridge project
According to the design, the cable-supported bridge will be 69m from the highest water level and 1.4km long. Once complete in 4 years, the new bridge will offer an alternative passage to the Likoni Ferry which normally caters for the Kenya Ferry Service that is currently the only available crossing between Mombasa Island and the South Coast.

The Kenya National Highway Authority (KeNHA) will oversee the construction works of the project. According to Joseph Straus, an American structural engineer, the bridge will also significantly complement the Dongo Kundu road bypass, which is almost complete and is is expected to boost trade and tourism on the South Coast.

Economic development in this region has stagnated for years due to poor infrastructure. Over the years aging ferries have been the main means of travel across the Likoni channel. For many years, the government has toyed with the idea of either building a bridge, a tunnel or a cable car across the Likoni channel.

A report presented to the Mtongwe ferry disaster commission stated that plans for the building of a bridge or a tunnel across the channel had been in the pipeline for decades, but had always been put off because of a lack of funds.

08/09/2020

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08/09/2020

The Nuclear Power and Energy Agency, (NuPEA), formerly Kenya Nuclear Electricity Board, is seeking regulatory approval for construction of a Sh540 billion nuclear power plant in Kenya, in a move likely to spark a fresh round of protests from environmental campaigners.


In its submissions to the National Environment Management Authority, NuPEA says it is on course to build and operate the country’s first nuclear energy reactor in Tana River by 2027.

“The first nuclear power plant of 1,000 MW, is expected to be commissioned by the year 2027 and it is expected to grow to 4,000 MW by 2035,” NuPEA said.

The nuclear agency said it was evaluating technologies to identify the ideal reactor for Kenya.

The modern nuclear reactors available in the international market are large-sized devices in the range 1,000 MW –1,750 MW with “proven design technology and performance records”.

Four reactors of 4,000MW are expected to be on site by 2035. This sets the total cost of the project at about Sh2 trillion – indicating the high cost of building a nuclear power plant.


A 2009 study by the Union of Concerned Scientists revealed that between 2002 and 2008 the cost estimates for new nuclear plant construction rose from at least Sh200 billion per unit to a maximum of 900 billion per unit, with overheads soaring higher in Europe.

It is against this background that energy experts from Italy and Germany, which are increasingly shifting towards green electricity, urged Kenya to reconsider its plan saying the country was better off developing more geothermal wells, solar parks and wind farms.

Long construction periods (about 10 years), and costly decommissioning of plants at the end of their lifespan, have dissuaded many developed countries from investing in nuclear energy.

But in an unexpected shift, several African countries are now betting on nuclear energy to meet their rising electricity demands – with a third of the nearly 30 countries considering nuclear power being in Africa, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Egypt, Morocco, Ghana, Kenya, Sudan, Niger, and Nigeria have engaged with the IAEA to evaluate their readiness to adopt a nuclear program, with Zambia, Uganda, and Tunisia considering the option.


South Africa, the only African country that operates a commercial nuclear power plant, is also harbouring some high voltage ambitions with the planned construction of a 2,500MW nuclear plant to enhance its power generation capacity.

Algeria is also planning to build a nuclear power plant to take advantage of the massive uranium assets in the country, believed to be about 26,000 tonnes.

Africa’s interest in nuclear energy comes despite evidence that renewable energy options such as solar and wind provide a cheaper and greener way to raise electricity production.

10/08/2020

The government of Kenya through the ministry of Housing and Urban Development invites bids for the construction of the proposed Nairobi Railway City, which is intended to expand the Central Business District.

This tender notice comes approximately two months after the annunciation of the formation of the Railway City Development Authority (RCDA), a special purpose vehicle for the project, and an implementation committee which would spearhead the operation of the Authority, develop a framework for the actualizing of the railway city, and identify anchor projects and investors.

All bids from interested and eligible candidates must be received on or before the 20th of August this year, according to the ministry.

Implementation of the project
The iconic multi-modal, transit-oriented, urban development project consisting of a new railway station that allows for the integration of BRT and other public transport modes as well as other commercial developments including skyscrapers, residential flats, a cultural center, and a museum, is part of the Nairobi Integrated Urban Development Plan.

It will be implemented in three phases within a span of 20 years on a 425-acre piece of land stretching from Haile Selassie Avenue, Uhuru Highway, Bunyala Road, Commercial Street, and Landhies Road.

The first phase entails the construction of meeting, incentive conferences, and exhibitions facilities along Bunyala Road. This phase will be executed between this year and 2023.

The second phase will be the construction of an economic zone comprising of hi-tech industries and small and medium enterprises while the third and the final phase, the East core, will be the construction of a residential complex featuring a school, park, and affordable housing units.

Upon completion, the economic free zone is expected to create more than 200,000 employment opportunities while the residential complex is expected to accommodate approximately 28,000 residents.

This project will be the largest and most ambitious development ever to be undertaken in the metropolitan region since independence and is expected to attract local and international private capital.

20/01/2020

05/12/2019

Kenya allocates US $10m to rebuild houses for flood victims

The government of Kenya has set aside US $10m to rebuild houses for flood victims across the country. Devolution Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa made the announcement and said the money would help residents in areas where the rains have left a trail of destruction.

Eugene Wamalwa said that the first counties to benefit from the project are Tana River, Busia, Trans-Nzoia, Makueni, Kitui, Wajir and Mandera. He said that his ministry is working with the Kenya Red Cross Society to identify and distribute building materials to the targeted families. Over 40,000 flood victims are set to benefit from the project.

Additionally, US $197,000 has also been set aside for construction of d***s along River Sabwani, which broke its banks and displaced residents; to control flooding. “I have visited several counties affected by floods in Wajir, Mandera and Tana River, and found that many families had lost property, including food. We are asking such families to move to higher ground to avoid more losses,” said Mr. Wamalwa.

Landslides and floods
The Meteorological Department had warned of possible landslides in central and western Kenya, while various other experts had predicted increased rainfall in the East African region this season. Severe flooding in Kenya has displaced more than 311,000 people, killing 132 and injuring 23, according to the National Disaster Management Agency.

More than 6,000 livestock have been killed, and flood waters have submerged more than 9,500 acres of farmland. Infrastructure including houses, health centers, schools and roads have been damaged or destroyed. About half of displaced people live in Tana River County, where 117 villages have been affected.

01/12/2019

Unit II of Olkaria V geothermal power plant in Kenya fully operational

The Unit II of the Olkaria V geothermal power plant is now fully operational. Italian group Steam, one of the companies in the SGC Geothermal consortium that worked on this project with Gesto Energy, made the announcement. The Olkaria V geothermal plant, is one of the largest geothermal power plants currently under construction and the largest African geothermal plant.

The power plant is part of KenGen’s green energy development agenda aimed at delivering 721MW of renewable energy by year 2020, at an investment close to about US $1.3bn. The project is funded by Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) and the Government of Kenya.

Olkaria V geothermal plant
The Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract for this project was executed by three companies; Mitsubishi Corporation, whose role was to supply equipment for the geothermal power plant, Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems was responsible for transporting equipment from the eastern port of Mombasa to the site where the plant is located in western Kenya.

H Young & Company (HY) was chosen to supply some of the parts needed to equip the steam plant. The first unit of this plant was commissioned in July 2019 by Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen), the independent power producer (IPP) developing the project in western Kenya. Both Unit 1 and 2 will supply a total of 160 MW of electricity and absorbing 500 tonnes of dry steam per hour, at temperatures of about 270 degrees Celsius.

Energy sector in Kenya
About 80% of Kenya’s installed capacity is from renewable sources; which is more than three times the global average. Over the years, KenGen has developed a rich energy mix comprising hydro (819.9MW), geothermal (612MW), thermal (253.5MW) and wind (25.5MW) with the focus being on renewable energy sources.

The Nairobi Securities Exchange(NSE) listed power generator is also developing an additional unit(Unit 6) at Olkaria 1. “Consistent with our long-term plan, we are continuously working on increasing our renewable energy to provide affordable energy to Kenyans while safeguarding the environment. This, in turn, will lead to the provision of stable energy to power households and industries across the country,” said CEO Rebecca

31/05/2019

In March 2016, the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) terminated the Greenfields Terminal Project at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. The contractors, a Joint Venture of Anhui Construction Engineering Group Ltd (ACEG) and China Aero-Technology International Engineering Corporation (CATIC), are subsequently claiming KES 22 billion [USD 221 million] as compensation for termination of their contract.

In August 2017, the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (KETRACO) issued ISOLUX Ingeniera, S. A with a termination notice. Isolux moved to court in a bid to protect its performance guarantees which amount to KES 1.4 billion [USD 14 million].

The common trait in both these cases and several others in the public domain was the ill-advised manner in which government entities terminated duly signed contracts upon which works had commenced. This was in total disregard to contractual provisions that entitle the Contractor to make claims for compensation in the event of such terminations. As a consequence, the Contractors affected by the decisions to terminate have entered into litigation procedures which may cost the Government of Kenya billions of shillings.

Suspension and termination actions on complex infrastructure projects are typically expensive to resolve and invariably result in litigation if other forms of amicable dispute resolution fail. In the presence of proper contract management and advice, disputes in construction can be avoided or minimized. There would be no need for ill-advised terminations and suspensions of contracts.

Litigation in construction is an expensive process for contractors and project owners regardless of the outcome for either party. For government entities and state corporations, the cost of litigation and settlement of claims is borne by citizens through the taxes we pay.

Typical claims from contractors upon terminations of contract may include costs incurred to tender for the project, mobilization and demobilization costs, loss of profit anticipated from the project, costs for works executed but not paid, home office overhead costs, damages for loss of good will/loss of future business due to potential negative publicity following termination. These costs can amount to billions of shillings. All these claims are contractually valid in most construction contracts, and the contractor is legally entitled to them.

It is apparent that human resources in state corporations are stretched and personnel engage in actions outside of their professional jurisdiction in order to cover for deficits in staffing. Consequently, non-qualified personnel may engage in contractual decision-making and taint the soundness of decisions made.

Project owners, especially government entities, should consider engaging qualified and experienced contract managers in their employment ranks. Proper contract advisory services will result in cost savings, timely completions and improvement of quality of infrastructure projects.

28/03/2019

Serene Park is an ultra-modern estate located 500 metres from the main Machakos- Mombasa road junction. The development features 4 bedroomed, all ensuite villas that are each 3600sqf with a DSQ. The villas have high quality finishes with imported ceramic and granite tiles in living, dining, bedrooms and all corridors. All the bedrooms have imported shower mixtures and full height wardrobes for maximum storage space.
Serene Park also features the following amenities;
• Exclusive Club House,
• Fully equipped gym
• Infinity pool
• Three car parking
• Visitors parking
• Borehole
• Guards house and security system
• Intercom facility
• Solar water Heating system
• Generator for common areas lighting
The villas are ready for occupation;
Current Villa Price: Kshs. 26.5 Million

02/10/2018

Kenya moved up 32 places in a World Bank ranking to become the second-most efficient African country in moving goods across borders.

According to the latest Logistics Performance Index (LPI), the country is in position 42, up from 74 in what is perhaps the global lender’s approval of the Government’s efforts to improve the ease of doing business. The country comes second to South Africa in the index that ranks logistics in160 countries . Kenya’s LPI score of 3.33 puts it ahead of economies like Russia, Brazil and Argentina. The report attributed this positive performance on “strong political will” and implementation of administration reforms in the region. “Relatively rapid improvements can also be achieved regionally if countries have a strong political will and align their efforts in implementing administrative reform. This is the case, for example, for the Northern Corridor that links Burundi, Rwanda, and Uganda with the Port of Mombasa in Kenya, and also serves eastern parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, and Tanzania,” said the World Bank in the report. Germany was ranked best overall with a score of 4.23, while war-torn Syria sits at the tail-end with a score of 1.60.

However, in the World Bank’s East of Doing Business 2016, Kenya’s performance in trade across borders remained unchanged compared to its performance in 2015. Trade agency TradeMark East Africa (TMEA) has said the modernisation of the Port of Mombasa and creation of One Stop Border Posts at Malaba, Busia and Taveta would reduce the average time it takes to import goods from 11 days to 3.8. Meanwhile, visiting Burundian Transport Minister Jean Bosco Ntunzwenimana was full of praise for Kenya Ports Authority’s (KPA) efforts to enhance the clearance of goods from Mombasa. The minister said the ongoing construction of a 1,545km alternative route to Bujumbura — Mombasa-Voi-Taveta-Moshi-Arusha-Singida-Bujumbura — would reduce the distance to the Burundian city from Mombasa by 358km. “We are working towards promoting good working relations between the Port of Mombasa and the Port of Bujumbura so that we jointly bolster trade in the region. The road between our capital and DRC is undergoing a facelift which will enable us facilitate and increase trade along the northern corridor,” Mr Ntunzwenimana said. Burundi’s cargo through Mombasa is pre-dominantly clinker, motor vehicles and tea for exports.

11/09/2018

Kenya to construct the largest CBD mall space in Nairobi

Kenya is set to construct the largest mall space on the periphery of Nairobi’s City Centre by British architecture firm aLL Design and Nanyuki Cedar Mall developer Kiloran Development Group.

Marcos Rosello, co-founder of aLL Design confirmed the reports and said that the development will become a retail leisure destination in its own right and also have offices.

The shopping mall which will be named ‘The Beacon’ will be set on a site off the east of Uhuru Highway towards Bunyala Road roundabout. It will be 28,500 square metres (306,771 square feet).

The largest mall space
The mall is said to, be the largest mall space in the City Centre as most large malls are usually found closer to residential areas as opposed to the Central Business District (CBD).

“We were intrigued by Kiloran’s ideas for this mall in Nairobi and are pleased to be able to create an open-air mall with a focus on sustainability, fun and family which we believe to be key drivers of future international mall designs,” said Marcos Rosello.

The mall will sit on its prime retail pitch immediately between major employment zones — the CBD, the Industrial Area and Upper Hill — thus broadening the localized leisure offer to encourage longer dwell time at the mall by visiting families with children, teenagers and young people.

aLL Design’s first project
This is aLL Design’s first project in Africa and the second shopping centre-led development for Kiloran LLP, who have offices in both London and Nairobi.

The mixed use space will feature a shopping centre and Grade A office project. It will have 24,300 square metres of retail, food and beverage along with a 4,200 square metre, seven-storey office tower overlooking the mall’s roof garden and bar. The shopping mall according to the architect will be completed in 2020.

23/08/2018

Japan to fund the Nairobi rail flyover project in Kenya

Japan through Japan International Co-operation Agency, (JICA) has agreed to fund the construction of the Nairobi rail flyover project which will link Enterprise Road to Nairobi Central Business District.

The rail flyover also known as a viaduct will be a long bridge-like structure, typically a series of arches, carrying a railway across a valley or other low ground will fly over the railway yard at the Nairobi Central Railway Station.

Kenya Urban Roads Authority (Kura) acting director general Silas Kinoti, confirmed the statement and said that the project was identified in the Nairobi Integrated Urban Development Master Plan 2030 as a priority project to reduce traffic congestion within city centre and divert traffic from Mombasa Road.

Feasibility study
“At the same time it is intended to go a long way in expanding the CBD as well as alter permanently the Nairobi city centre landscape and give it a modern look,” said Mr Kinoti.

Mr Kinoti further added that several studies have been conducted in compliance with relevant Kenyan laws and JICA environmental and social safeguard guidelines. Feasibility studies, environmental and social impact assessment and ongoing resettlement action plan (RAP) are being conducted by a JICA commissioned study team

“So far, several consultative meetings … have been held with stakeholders including the Muthurwa Estate residents as part of the ongoing RAP process,” he said.

The Kura boss said, according to feasibility studies conducted in 2016, a section of the viaduct would be constructed on land currently occupied by Wakulima market but several other options have been identified to ensure traders are not disenfranchised during the construction period.

Alternative site
He said Muthurwa Estate was identified as an alternative site for relocation of the market during consultations with various stakeholders including representatives of the Wakulima market traders, Nairobi City County government, Kenya Railways Staff Retirement Benefits Scheme (KRSRBS) and Kura.

The Project planning and study activities are part of an ongoing process that will give recommendations and inform stakeholders including the government of Kenya and JICA on the project’s viability.