Centum Affordable Housing Units construction project has made a step ahead as $20 million will be granted to Centum Real Estate from the World Bank which will be utilized in the construction of affordable housing units at Two Rivers. The loan which will be disbursed via the International Finance Cooperation will fund the prime 104-acre mixed-used urban node found in Diplomatic Blue Zone in Northern Nairobi, Kenya. The total approximate budget of the project stands at $91 million which is equivalent to Ksh13.2 billion which will foresee IFC providing funds of US$20 million through the loan.
These funds which have been allocated for the Kenya’s biggest listed firm of investment, is expected to address the obvious and the rising lack of affordable housing in Kenya. This financing comes just a couple of months after Two Rivers land was gazetted as a private Special Economic Zone (SEZ).
Also read: Ruiru affordable housing project in Kiambu, Kenya, launched
Number of Centum Affordable Housing Units to be Constructed
The IFC investment will support Centum Real Estate Limited which is a subsidiary that is owned fully by Centum Investment Company that will fund the construction and development of 1,940 affordable housing units in Two Rivers. Other than that, IFC will provide long-term debt funding which would not be in the market from exclusively investors who put their money in the sector as it is deemed to be very risky. Lastly, innovation and capacity building will also be offered by IFC.
As for now the project is on its first phase of construction and shall be completed in the month of July 2024. Moreover, the manager of the project currently is a third-party contractor. Â Once the housing project is completed, the units will be 80% sold and Centum will hand them over to a third-party whose responsibility will be to manage the initial operations phase before a property management company is formed by the homeowners. The Centum Real Estate Limited has plans of setting up 9,908 housing units in Two Rivers in the coming future which will contribute to addressing the increasing housing shortage in Kenya.
