UAP hires engineers to hasten building of 31-storey tower
Times Tower in Nairobi. UAP's building is set to join landmark buildings in the country in the league of the iconic KICC (28 storeys) and Times Tower (33 storeys) which are in the central business district. FILE
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UAP Insurance is recruiting additional engineers to hasten construction of a 31-storey building complex in Nairobi, which is poised to become one of the city’s tallest structures.
Located in the fast-growing Upper Hill area, the structure is set to join landmark buildings in the country in the league of the iconic KICC (28 storeys) and Times Tower (33 storeys) which are in the central business district.
UAP Insurance is recruiting additional engineers to hasten construction of a 31-storey building complex in Nairobi, which is poised to become one of the city’s tallest structures.
The regional insurer said in an interview yesterday that construction of the building, being financed through private equity, had reached the 10th floor.
Located in the fast-growing Upper Hill area, the structure is set to join landmark buildings in the country in the league of the iconic KICC (28 storeys) and Times Tower (33 storeys) which are in the central business district.
The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) has announced plans to extend its eight-storey Hazina Trade Centre to 39 floors, which will make it Nairobi’s tallest building on completion. UAP said it was recruiting additional personnel to tighten quality control measures during construction.
“We’re hiring them (engineers) basically to ensure highest building standards,” UAP chief financial officer Jackson Theuri told the Business Daily in a telephone interview yesterday.
UAP, which has presence in Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan and Tanzania, is aggressively pursuing real estate investments in a bid to expand its revenue streams that in the past have been mainly tethered to the bourse. The firm has so far invested about Sh8.4 billion ($100 million) in property within the East Africa region, according to Mr Theuri.
He said the company’s strategy is to deepen its foray into the lucrative property sector.
“There is a shortage of grade ‘A’ buildings in the region presenting us with a ready market,” he noted.
The firm is currently constructing a 15-floor building in Juba, South Sudan, after completion of another complex unit in Kampala, Uganda.
A number of Kenya’s insurance firms including Britam, CIC Insurance and Pan African Insurance have also taken to real estate to diversify their revenue streams.
In the first quarter of 2013, UAP held 10.9 per cent of the industry’s gross premium income for non-life insurance, which stood at Sh25.44 billion, second only to Jubilee Insurance which had 11.5 per cent.
Though UAP recorded a 48 per cent jump in premium income, it was not enough to lift its first-half profit significantly.
It earned Sh498 million profit from gross written premium of Sh6.4 billion, which had risen from Sh4.3 billion in 2012.
