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Tag: Urban development

  • Treasury allocates Ksh 128.3B to boost affordable housing, urban development

    Treasury allocates Ksh 128.3B to boost affordable housing, urban development

    The government has committed to facilitating the construction of decent, safe and affordable houses for Kenyans through the Affordable Housing Programme (AHP) with a proposed allocation of Ksh 128.3 billion for the Housing, Urban Development and Public Works sub sectors.

    Speaking Thursday before Parliament, Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi stressed that the Affordable Housing Programme is not only addressing the housing deficit but also creating jobs for the youth both directly in construction and indirectly through the production and supply of building materials.

    Of the Ksh. 128.3B allocated, the Kenya Urban Programme (KenUP) will receive Ksh 13.4 billion,  Ksh 64.5 billion is allocated for the construction of Affordable Housing Units, Ksh 10.5 billion is for construction of Social Housing Units while Ksh 16.5 billion is for social and physical infrastructure.

    To further support urban development and enhance living conditions, Treasury proposed Ksh 7.2 billion for the Kenya Informal Settlement Improvement Project Phase II, Ksh 3.5 billion for the construction of Housing Units for the National Police and Kenya Prison, Ksh 500 million for Building Climate Resilience of the Urban Poor Programme (BCRUP), Ksh 184 million for construction of foot bridges as well as Ksh 454 million targeted to support construction of County Headquarters.

    To ensure the safety of Kenyans and adherence to building standards, Ksh 2.6 billion has been proposed for the Regulation and Development of the Construction Industry.

    This will go toward enforcing compliance with building codes, promoting sustainable construction, and improving industry oversight.

    “To ensure the safety of Kenyans through compliance with building codes and standards, as well as other industry regulations, I have proposed an allocation of Ksh 2.6 billion for the Regulation and Development of the Construction Industry.” CS Mbadi noted.

    The Affordable Housing Programme is a key pillar of the Kenya Kwanza administration’s development agenda, with a long-term target of delivering hundreds of thousands of units across the country while spurring job creation and stimulating the local economy.

     

  • Nairobi benefits from AfDB’s Ksh 598M fund to improve urban life

    Nairobi benefits from AfDB’s Ksh 598M fund to improve urban life

    Kenya’s capital, Nairobi City is among 14 municipalities and local authorities that will benefit from a Ksh 598.5 million ($4.5m) fund by the African Development Bank (AfDB) to improve the quality of life in African urban areas.

    Under the Urban and Municipal Development Fund (UMDF), the first tranche amounting to Ksh 66.5 million ($500,000) will be utilized on improving the quality of urban governance.

    According to the multilateral lender, the fund will launch a capacity-building and consulting programme to improve municipal finances and solvency in six large pilot cities in Africa including Nairobi, Dakar, Abidjan, Addis Ababa, Kigali and Lagos.
    AfDB says he aim is to maintain the support programme for municipalities and help them identify and access new sources of public and private finance.

    “These projects have been selected because of their potential impact, their ability to change the daily lives of millions of African citizens living in urban areas, but also because of their inclusive dimension and the benefits they bring for combating and adapting to climate change,” said Mike Salawou, Director of the Infrastructure and Urban Development Department at the AfDB.

    Another Ksh 119.7 million ($900,000) will target urban planning and will help extend the African Cities Programme to six new cities in addition to 13 already benefiting.

    “This programme involves the design of effective urban action plans and identifying priority investment projects worthy of support from donors including the African Development Bank,” said the Bank.

    The remaining Ksh 372.4 million ($2.8m) will be used to accelerate the upgrade of urban infrastructure across various fronts.

    The money will finance preliminary studies for projects such sewerage and water drainage in Maroua (Cameroon), sewerage networks in Accra (Ghana), drinking water treatment in the Cairo region (Egypt), coastal works in Nouakchott (Mauritania) and climate-resilient infrastructure planning in Cape Town (South Africa).