- Investors have taken more than half of the land available for investment in Phase 1 of the Konza Technopolis project
- The revelation comes when the development of Phase’s horizontal infrastructure will be completed by the end of this year
- The completion of the works, which entail the construction of streetscapes and drainage works, paves the way for the vertical construction works to be undertaken by the private sector
Investors have taken up seventy-two percent of land available for investment in Phase 1 of the Konza Technopolis project in Kenya.
In a statement, the firm said this represents 106 out of 147 land parcels demarcated for uptake by investors in Phase 1, which comprises 1,703 acres of land, including wildlife and nature parks.
The revelation comes when the Phase’s horizontal infrastructure development will be completed by the end of this year.
The completion of the works, which entail the construction of streetscapes and drainage works, paves the way for the private sector’s vertical construction works.
According to John Tanui, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Konza Technopolis Development Authority (KoTDA), the agency mandated with the development of Konza Technopolis, the Authority is now focusing on completing the horizontal infrastructure entails servicing the land parcels with necessary amenities.
“For the horizontal infrastructure, we expect within this year to move and reach over 95 per cent with the remaining scope of work being the development of verticals among them a police command centre, fire station, welcome centre, safety shelter for screening vehicles and power distribution station and Konza furnished apartments. In 2021, we recorded over 70 per cent completion and our focus is to complete this as we speed up investor’s uptake,” said Tanui.
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The CEO added: “regarding investor uptake of Phase One, we expect that the entire land parcels available will be taken up by June 2022. We are already in discussion with the Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning to have more land demarcated for manufacturing since the parcels which had been set aside have been fully taken up,” he said.
Phase One of the Konza Technopolis project is a mixed-use community comprising commercial, residential, public, and hospitality amenities. Phase One will attract 30,000 residents, 7,500 knowledge workers, and 16,700 other workers upon completion.
Mohammed Omar, Director at Odesey International Limited, lauded the Technopolis’s progress, terming the ongoing works as a true reflection of the dream of a smart city in Kenya.
He said: “For a long period, we were in limbo on what was happening at Konza Technopolis but upon my visit today, I am surprised that a lot is going on, especially on the horizontal infrastructure development. I think what I have seen here proves that as a nation, we are moving forward and this is how countries like South Korea were build.”
Omar also noted that the country has taken a good trajectory in developing other flagship projects such as Lamu Port and the New Kipevu Oil Terminal Project.
Eng. Mbugua Kamau, a real estate developer who was part of the delegation, noted that Konza Technopolis had made significant progress in the last year, especially in developing service tunnels and roads.
He said: “I am very impressed with the quality of work and particularly the service tunnels which covers six kilometres. The master plan is well thought out, and it is good to note that investors are taking this project seriously.”
As part of its strategic priorities under the second strategic plan (2021-2025), Konza Technopolis Development Authority actively engages local and international investors. Private sector players are also taking up the offerings of Konza National Data Centre, which is offering cloud computing services to both private and public organisations.
In a related story, investors at the Konza Technopolis were reassured of reliable power supply for their operations following the ongoing implementation of a 400 Kilovolt (kV) Kenya Electricity Transmission Company’s (KETRACO) substation in the upcoming smart city.