Konza City’s Sh3bn office block, hotel to house early entrants

The government is constructing a Sh3 billion facility expected to host investors at the planned Konza techno city.

The first phase of the project will comprise of an office building constructed at a cost of Sh1.9 billion.

One of the floors in the eight-story building will be reserved for incubation hubs while another will be set apart for the Konza Technopolis Development Authority (KOTDA) offices. A restaurant will be set up on the building’s rooftop.

KOTDA chief executive John Tanui said in an interview Tuesday that Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) has committed to set up a branch in the office block.

The Authority is planning to set up a five-star hotel with conference-hosting facilities in the second phase of the project. The hotel may be managed by a private sector firm.

This is the first structure to come up on the site of the 5,000-acre techno city. Over the next two years, the government expects a flurry of construction at the site as investors begin work on parcels of land set to be allocated early next year.

“We are in the final stages of allocating land to investors and they must develop their parcels of land,” said Mr Tanui.

Konza is part of the government’s long-term goal to shift the country to a knowledge economy by 2030.

Proposed during the Kibaki presidency, the project excited technology and investment circles locally and internationally.

However, the Sh595.8 billion “Silicon Savannah” had several false starts as the government tackled legal disputes over the purchase of land and key legislation was delayed.

This latest development signals renewed interest in the project. In May, the South Korean government committed to put up a Sh10 billion research university in Konza. Last year, KOTDA invited the private sector to bid for use of land in the first phase of the project.

READ: Kenya, South Korea set to sign pact for Sh10bn Konza City university

The Authority says that it has received 60 bids so far. Some of the companies that have expressed interest in setting up in Konza include JamboPay, Nailab and Craft Silicon. Equity Bank in 2014 said it would build a Sh3 billion data centre in the city.

KOTDA says that it will complete land allocation for this first phase of construction by early 2017.

Companies are drawn to Konza by promises of tax incentives because the city will operate under the special economic zones regime. The facility, 60 kilometres from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, is also strategically located.

The government is expected to invest Sh52.2 billion in setting up the city’s basic infrastructure. In August, a 12-kilometre power line from Machakos ensured Konza has power supply.

A four-kilometre road network has been constructed on the site while the expansion of the stretch of Mombasa Road between Athi River and Machakos junction is expected to ease traffic to Konza.