Browsing: Affordable housing

• From ports to railways, Tanzania’s investment in infrastructure is on the rise post-pandemic.
• Tanzania is constructing a $1.9 billion railway which is part of 1,219-kilometer railway network.
• Shelter Afrique reports that Tanzania’s housing needs is at an estimated 200,000 units per year.

With a market value estimated at over $27.1 billion and an estimated annual growth in excess of 6 per cent, a construction boom is taking shape in Tanzania.

Granted these figures have dropped since the Covid-19 global economic slump but nonetheless, recovery is well underway. During the Covid-19 slowdown, data from the Bank of Tanzania shows that credit to the construction sector declined by 11.9 per cent. In 2021 loans to businesses and agriculture declined by 10.3 per cent and 8.1 per cent, respectively.

However, given the fact that Tanzania has placed public works among its top priorities, the sector is recovering rapidly. Annual investment in building infrastructure …

• Kenya is set to host the second United Nations Habitat Assembly where policymakers will discuss and formulate strategies to drive sustainable urbanization of the world.
• The assembly will take place between June 5th and 9th and is expected to bring together representatives from member states, civil society organizations, as well as several Heads of States and ministers.
• Discussions will center on sustainable urban development, including affordable housing, urban climate action, urban crises response, local action to achieve SDGs, and financing for sustainable urban development.

The second edition of the United Nations Habitat Assembly is set to take place in Nairobi in June to discuss strategies for sustainable urbanisation as well as affordable housing, a key agenda of the Kenya Kwanza administration.

The Assembly,  which is a body of the UN comprising 193 member states, will take place in Nairobi from June 5th to 9th and is expected to bring together …

Kenya’s Stima Savings and Credit Cooperative (SACCO) Limited has launched its Affordable Housing Mortgage Scheme in partnership with the Kenya Mortgage Refinance Company (KMRC), a treasury backed lender, targeting both individuals in formal and informal employment.

The purpose of the scheme is to offer affordable mortgages to members of the SACCO with bespoke terms.

For individuals who are employed, the SACCO will offer a loan up to a maximum of Sh4 million, at 9 percent interest rate, with a 25-years repayment plan.

For individuals in business or those with rental income, the loan will still be capped at Sh4 million, at 9.5 percent interest rate, with a repayment tenor of up to 20 years.

According to analysts from Cytonn Investment, an employed individual will be required to make monthly payments of about Sh33, 600 while a business home owner will pay Sh37, 300.

For salaried Kenyans, these payments are still …

Kenya’s construction industry is projected to grow by up to 3.9 percent this year, according to a new report by the Architectural Association of Kenya (AAK).

The report, dubbed Status of the Built Environment report, AAK however cautions that the growth can only happen if there is no repeat of the strict lock down that were implemented in the country last year after the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic.

The report says growth will be driven by several factors among them a sharp recovery in output levels compared to periods when works were not permitted or were severely restricted in 2020.

“In 2021, the construction industry is expected to improve, assuming a slowdown in COVID-19 cases and recovery in the global economy,” the report notes.

Kenya to start construction of double decker highway as World Bank consents to funding

The report notes that the second quarter of the year, for …

The affordable housing sector in Kenya is well set to provide attractive opportunities to investors.

This is according to Vivian Ombwayo, Director of Research and Valuation at Broll Kenya who said this will be driven by the government’s investment in the 2021-22 national budget into the sector, combined with attractive incentives for private developers.

Commenting on the same, Jess Cleland, COO Outside of SA, Valuations & Intel at Broll said the affordable housing sector in Kenya offers developers an opportunity to diversify their portfolios, especially those concentrating on the commercial-user space.

“It means they are able to diversify into the residential sector, thanks to attractive government incentives,” he added.

Vivian and Cleland spoke when they presented a research report on the sector at the eighth annual East Africa Property Investment (EAPI) Summit.

The experts added that the abundant housing opportunities in Kenya also allow complementary users to be included in …

Shelter Afrique, Pan-African housing development financier signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with two Chinese construction firms to scale up the development of large-scale affordable housing projects in Kenya and its member States.

The two Chinese construction firms are Amberton International Holdings and Sichuan Huashi Enterprise Corporations E.A. LTD, with the MoU expected to boost Shelter Afrique’s mandate of providing decent and affordable housing in Africa.

The MoU was signed by Andrew Chimphondah, Shelter Afrique Chief Executive Officer, Nancy Yu, Amberton International Holdings Director and Sichuan Huashi Enterprise Corporations E.A. LTD Managing Director Cao Zheng.

“As a company, our overriding strategy is the provision of affordable housing across our member States through public-private partnerships.  This strategic partnership with Amberton and Huashi will be key in expanding our projects across the continent as we draw from the experiences of the two companies. Shelter Afrique will work closely with Amberton International Holdings …

Global emphasis on ‘stay at home’ orders has affirmed the strategic position of housing as the frontline defence against spread of the novel coronavirus.

Having a roof over your head has never before been critical in providing protection against contracting and spreading a virus as it is now.

Housing is today helping to keep many from the deadly bug by allowing populations meet essential requirements like physical distancing and quarantine for those infected in COVID-19.

In Kenya, where fixing housing deficit is still a pipe dream, many households are exposed to the dangers of the pandemic especially the poor living in informal settlements.

Currently, the recommended social distancing is a mirage, an unimaginable luxury for slum dwellers who live in already crowded areas where large families are forced to share a single and quite smaller rooms.

For instance, picture out how two-thirds of 4.4 million would achieve social distancing on …