The Two Rivers International Finance and Innovation Centre (Trific) has been designated a project of strategic national importance, allowing it to bypass Nairobi County in seeking development approvals, instead obtaining them directly from the national government.
The designation, announced by the State Department for Lands and Physical Planning under the Ministry of Lands, Public Works, Housing and Urban Development, effectively places the 64-acre Two Rivers Special Economic Zone (SEZ) under the direct supervision of the national planning authorities.
Consequently, Trific will no longer be required to seek development permissions, planning approvals or lease extensions through Nairobi County, where the project is located, but will instead make applications straight to the Cabinet Secretary for Lands.
The special zone offers several incentives to attract companies, including exemption from stamp duty and a lower tax rate of 10 percent on domestic income for the first ten years.
“This will translate to a faster approval of Trific projects and processes, assuring our investors of timely delivery,” said Brenda Mbathi, chief executive of Trific in a press statement.
This will spare the project the bureaucracy often encountered in many counties when seeking approvals for activities such as amending master plans, setting up new buildings, changing land use, lease renewals, renovations or any other physical development-related activities.
The decision follows an inspection of the Trific SEZ, which confirmed that the project qualifies as one of strategic national importance under Section 69(4) of the Physical and Land Use Planning Act, 2019.
The law empowers the Lands Cabinet Secretary to assume direct authority over projects deemed to have significant national economic impact. The ministry assessed that the project falls within regulation 4(d) of the Act, which covers privately developed projects located within Special Economic Zones.
The move is expected to speed up the rollout of ongoing and upcoming developments, including Grade A office towers and new mixed-use facilities, without going through the lengthy county approval procedures.
Trific SEZ is a wholly owned subsidiary of Centum Investment Company, which is listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange. The SEZ, located next to the Two Rivers Mall on the Nairobi–Limuru corridor, obtained its Special Economic Zone licence in June 2023.
Ms Mbathi said the project's designation as of strategic national importance will reinforce investor confidence by guaranteeing efficiency and predictability.
“Ultimately, the project will be well positioned for exit at a good return to the providers of capital,” she noted.
Two Rivers Land Company (SEZ) Limited, a subsidiary of Centum, intends to set up a US dollar-denominated income Real Estate Investment Trust (I-Reit), with the Trific North Tower being the first asset to be acquired by the I-REIT.
Two Rivers Land Company (SEZ) Limited says the Trific North Tower will be the first asset to be acquired by its I-REIT.
Photo credit: Pool
Centum said the Trific North Tower has achieved full occupancy. Currently, Trific has 150,000 square feet of grade A commercial office space. It plans a further 1.2 million square metres of grade A office development.
Some of the international corporations located in Trific SEZ include Teleperformance, Technobrain and Dalberg.
