Kenyan president, Dr. Ruto, recently oversaw the Mavoko Affordable Housing project’s groundbreaking in Machakos County.
The state and UN-Habitat are parties to a Memorandum of Understanding dated January 15, 2003. This is according to Charles Hinga, principal secretary for the State Department of Housing and Urban Development. On June 17, 2013, the MoU was amended and restated to set up a framework for cooperation in the development of a low- and medium-cost housing scheme on the land.
The developer, M/s EPCO Builders Limited, intends to construct 5,360 housing units for the project. The units will have 560 studio units, 960 one-bedroom units, 2,400 two-bedroom units, as well as 1,440 three-bedroom units. 1,340 units would be built in each of the project’s four phases. The project will be carried out over the next four years.
What will be featured in the Mavoko Affordable Housing project
The project will mainly be comprised of housing units. Additionally, it will have social amenities such as a community center, a primary school, and a kindergarten. It will also have a commercial center, a modern market, and a fire station.
According to Hinga, the project will also entail external civil works and service installations for the residential homes and social facilities.
By collaborating with TVET colleges, the National Construction Authority (NCA), and the National Industrial Training Authority (NITA), the developer will engage Jua Kali artisans to fabricate steel casement doors and windows. The doors and windows will be used in the project, according to the PS.
Using local labor employed on both a permanent and contract basis will guarantee skills transfer, according to Hinga. In addition, the developer will be expected to utilize primarily Kenyan-sourced raw materials in its construction works. The developer, also anticipates that the project’s materials will be obtained similarly.
Hinga claimed that the developer will provide the county with the fire station in exchange for design revisions to market sheds that will also be handed over to the county. Both of them are expected to be beneficial to the county.
Reported earlier
Dec 2021
Deal signed for construction of 5,360 houses in Mavoko, Kenya
A close to US$ 177M deal has been signed between Epco Builders Limited, one of the most renowned Building and Civil Engineering firms in Kenya, and the government of the East African country for the construction of 5,360 houses in Mavoko, Machakos County.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Epco Builders managing director Ramji Varsani expressed his excitement about taking up the housing project, which is one of the biggest in Machakos County saying, “It has been a quite long journey doing a consultation on pricing and specification of the housing units, but finally the D-day is almost here.”
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Mr. Varsani affirmed that the company will utilize modern building technologies to deliver good-quality homes at affordable prices.
An overview of the 5,360 houses in Mavoko
The project for the construction of the 5,360 houses in Mavoko is being carried out under the Mavoko Affordable Housing Programme which is a partnership between Kenya and the UN-Habitat, in a bid to provide affordable homes to low and middle-income earners in line with one of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Big Four agenda.
According to Housing and Urban Development Principal Secretary Charles Hinga, the project sits on a 55-acre piece of land and it is expected to deliver 960 one-bedroom units, 2,400 two-bedroom units, 1,440 three-bedroom units, and 560 studio units.
Alongside the housing units, the project also includes a community center, kindergarten, primary school, commercial center, fire station, and police station, the largest of its kind in Machakos County and probably the entire lower Eastern region.
The project for the construction of the 5,360 houses in Mavoko will be completed in four years’ time.
