The National Construction Authority (NCA) said a deep excavation on the project site in Upper Hill, Nairobi, posed a safety hazard and urged its developer, Jabavu Village Limited, to take remedial measures or face prosecution.
“The authority will also recommend the necessary remedial action to be undertaken by the government at the developer’s cost and repossession of the land in line with the conditions of the title,” said NCA executive director Maurice Akech in a notice.
Developers of the stalled Pinnacle Towers, which was to host the 45-floor Hilton Upper Hill hotel and a 70-storey apartments and office block, have been given a 14-day ultimatum to restore environmental safety at the site or forfeit the land.
The National Construction Authority (NCA) said a deep excavation on the project site in Upper Hill, Nairobi, posed a safety hazard and urged its developer, Jabavu Village Limited, to take remedial measures or face prosecution.
“The authority will also recommend the necessary remedial action to be undertaken by the government at the developer’s cost and repossession of the land in line with the conditions of the title,” said NCA executive director Maurice Akech in a notice.
The 300-metre skyscraper, which was to cost at least Sh20 billion, was to be completed last year.
Upon completion, it would have hosted a shopping and entertainment facilities at the base and a five-star hotel above the shopping space.
It was to be developed jointly by Jabavu Village, the real estate arm of Hass Petroleum Group, and White Lotus Group — a Dubai-based conglomerate with interests in real estate, mining and petrochemicals, sports, among others.
In 2017, the project stalled after owners of a disputed adjacent piece of land filed a lawsuit against The Pinnacle for trespass through debris and construction equipment.
Ugandan tycoon James Mugoya filed the through his Kingorani Investments and a trust formed by former United Arab Emirates Leader Sheikh Zayeed Nayan.
A court order barred the constructors from using the neighbouring plot the same year.
However, it proceeded with the project. Consequently, in December 2018, High Court judge Samson Okong'o declared that the directors of White Lotus had acted in contempt of court.
As a result, they abandoned the use of the adjacent piece of land, ending the controversy.
The lawsuit, which slowed the project progress, saw water and debris fill up an excavation site that had already been dug to accommodate a four-level basement.
This comes in the wake of a notice issued by the NCA that ordered all developers who are not proceeding with construction projects to draw water and refill the excavations by the end of September.
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