Kariithi family set to develop Sh15bn Kiambu golf estate

The family of Kenyatta-era powerful permanent secretary Geoffrey Kariithi will in September break ground for a multi-billion shilling golf estate hived off a Kiambu coffee farm.

Kibuga Kariithi, son of the late PS, said the family plans to turn part of its coffee farm in Kiambu County into a real-estate development that on completion will be worth Sh15 billion.

Ground breaking for the first phase of Karunguru Coffee & Golf Estate is expected next month. The construction will be in three phases spread over the next three years.

Mr Kariithi said the decision to turn part of the 550-acre coffee farm into a property investment has been in the pipeline since the family bought the land from an Asian trading company in 1974, but only gained traction over the last few years.

“It (the plan) has been growing over the last 40 years but it picked up in the last two to three years,” Mr Kariithi told the Business Daily in an interview.

The project off Thika Road will sit on some 230 acres, with another 200 retained for coffee farming. A 9-hole golf course will be located on 120 acres of land.

Overall there will be some 180 houses consisting of villas, apartments and cabins, set to go for sale for between Sh57 million and Sh75 million.

The acreage to remain under coffee will be used as an agro-tourism attraction similar to the wine estates of South Africa, he added. Kenya tea and milk processing estates have also been hosting such tours.

Karunguru will have a commercial village, petrol stations, a coffee museum and horse stables.

Its financing will be through a mixture of debt and equity with most of the money expected to come from pre-sales that have already kicked off.

Mr Kariithi said debt will be used sparingly as developers already have funds for the dams, roads and other infrastructure.

“We have enough funding for the entire infrastructure,” he said.

AIB Capital is the financial advisor while PKF has been appointed the project manager. Achera & Partners are the project architects.

Mwanzoni Ltd is the project lead while Raspberry Adams is in charge of marketing and communications.

Property dealers say there is a growing market for high-end gated communities located outside Nairobi due to congestion of traditional high-end estates and lack of planning.

READ: High price of land in Nairobi denies residents homes

William Kabue, the managing director of property agent Certiorari, said retirees, expatriates and those in the diplomatic corps now prefer to move to such estates with a country setting.

“Due to the Thika Superhighway you have easy access to the United Nations, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and the Central Business District, yet you still live in a countryside setting,” said Mr Kabue.

Home Afrika is also developing a similar concept with their Migaa project in Kiambu County.

Thika Greens, Buffalo Hills Golf, Leisure Village and Bahati Ridge are other high-end developments in the environs of Nairobi while Longonot Gate and Aberdare Hills Golf Estate are located in Naivasha, Nakuru County.