University of Nairobi’s main campus in the central business district. The institution’s alumni association plans to raise funds to build an ultra-modern commercial hub to increase revenues and boost academic standards. File
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The proposed modern complex is expected to host conference halls, a hotel and restaurant as well as outdoor and indoor sports facilities.
The project is expected to begin later this year with completion date set for 2015.
Former University of Nairobi students expect to raise Sh155 million before the end of the year towards building of a Sh1 billion commercial complex on the institution’s main campus.
The first of its kind in Kenya, partnership between the public university and its former students is the latest commercial project the institution is undertaking to expand its revenue streams and uplift academic standards.
The proposed modern complex is expected to host conference halls, a hotel and restaurant as well as outdoor and indoor sports facilities, among others.
The University of Nairobi Alumni Association has so far raised Sh45 million and projects to net a further Sh110 million from members before it can lay the foundation for the proposed nine-storey tower that will also host a conference centre.
The project is expected to begin later this year with completion date set for 2015, according to the association’s secretariat.
The announcement comes hot on the heels of a planned Sh1 billion public private partnership hostel project by Kenyatta University, signalling the growing importance of commercial ventures as public funding in the education sector dwindles. University of Nairobi is also mulling over a similar project.
“We are optimistic the funds will arrive on time to kick start the project given the level of interest already generated among various stakeholders,” association’s executive director Johnson Kinyua told the Business Daily.
The former students will fund the centre as part of their support for Kenya’s oldest institution of higher learning.
University of Nairobi and the alumni will also seek corporate support in funding the project. KPMG Kenya, a consultancy, last week was the first company to present donation (Sh1 million) to the University of Nairobi for the project.
Other corporates that have shown interest are Nairobi Securities Exchange, Barclays Bank, Central Bank of Kenya and Equity Bank.
Companies that support the initiative will each adopt a facility at the alumni centre bearing their names and enjoy subsidised rates to access services offered at the commercial hub.
External examiners visiting the institution from abroad will be accommodated at the centre during their stay in the country, said the alumni official.
The business centre is expected to also house a modern library with special collections and archival resources as well as multi-media and e-learning programmes. The basement of the proposed building will have a spacious parking space.
Training and research activities would be conducted from specials halls set aside during exchange programme sessions with foreign students, said Mr Kinyua. The services would be open to students, university’s staff and the public.
Nobel laureate
He added that the alumni centre would dedicate a hall of fame to former University of Nairobi students with exemplary track record in their respective fields. Suggested names so far are the late Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai, Equity Bank CEO James Mwangi, Central Bank of Kenya governor Njuguna Ndung’u, among others.
Vice-chancellor George Magoha said that the institution would in future consider partnering with private companies to build additional hostels to accommodate growing population of learners.
“The current number of students at our institution stands at 62,500 and we are expecting a further growth in the population,” Prof Magoha said. “This means there will be a need for more accommodation facilities in the future.”
Citing land in Chiromo and Upper Kabete campuses, the vice-chancellor said that the university had enough space for such projects.
The alumni association was launched in 2005 and has so far registered 23,000 members. The number of graduates from the University of Nairobi so far stands at 143,650 since its establishment in 1961.
