By Patricia Mollyne Mataga
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has come out to address concerns over the new trend where high-rise buildings have been approved for construction in luxurious city estates.
Initially, the estates such as Kileleshwa, Lavington and Kilimani had been regarded as a preserve of the who’s and who’s in society due to the availability of own-compound single-storey buildings.
However, in recent years, multiple apartments have been approved in the estates, causing uproar among real estate experts.
Addressing the matter on Sunday during a church service attended by President William Ruto, Sakaja said with the fast growth of population, it was just a matter of time before the apartments came up in the said affluent estates.
“Nairobi is 996 square kilometres and in 2050 Nairobi will have a population of about 10.5 million people. Will we expand the city? No. The only place remaining is to go up,” the governor said.
He however noted that even as the high-rise buildings were approved, the county was working closely with the national government to ensure access to key amenities such as sewerage, water and drainage systems.
Meanwhile, the county boss revealed that the government had given the green light for developers to start constructing high-rise buildings around Eastleigh Airbase and nearby areas.
The area had restrictions due to security reasons and its proximity to the State House.
However, Sakaja says it is no longer possible for the President or other important leaders to be evacuated via Eastleigh airbase in the event of an emergency.
He said going forward, developers in the area will be allowed to set up buildings that go as high as 25 floors.
“When we were launching the affordable housing in Kiambio and Kamukunji we asked the President to consider removing restrictions for buildings in this area,” Sakaja said.
“We are happy that the President accepted our request and the height restriction has been removed. We will now go up to 25 floors,” he added.
