The United Nations is currently undertaking an expansion works at its secretariat headquarters in Nairobi. This will strengthen the Kenyan capital’s status as a leading hub for international diplomacy in the Global South. Currently, The UN Nairobi complex stands as the UN’s largest worldwide and its only headquarters in Africa.
Project Factsheet
Cost: Nearly $340 million
The Conference Facilities Project (CFP)
- Budget: $265.7 million
- Objective: To significantly increase the complex’s capacity for high-level meetings and events, bringing it on par with UN headquarters in New York and Geneva.
Key Features:
- Increased capacity: Conference capacity will be expanded from 2,000 to 9,000 participants.
- New Assembly Hall: Construction of a new Assembly Hall with a capacity of 1,600 delegates.
- Meeting rooms: The number of meeting rooms will increase from 14 to 30.
- Other facilities: A new visitors’ center, a dedicated media center, and modernized public and conference spaces.
Timeline:
- Design: Completed as of April 2025.
- Early Construction Works: Began in mid-2025.
- Major Construction: Expected to begin in late 2025 and unfold through 2026.
- Completion: Targeted for September 2029.
Office Expansion and Upgrade Project
- Cost: Approximately USD 74.5 million
- Objective: To replace and refurbish existing office buildings to accommodate a rising number of staff and agencies.
Key Features:
- New buildings: Replacement of the original 10 prefabricated office blocks with six new, modern, and climate-resilient buildings.
- Refurbishment: Renovation of office blocks constructed between 1980 and 2010.
- Staff acommodation: The project is designed to accommodate new UN agencies relocating some of their regional and global operations to Nairobi, including UNICEF, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and UN Women.
Strategic importance: The expansion cements Nairobi’s position as the only UN headquarters in the Global South and a cost-effective, strategically located hub for international operations.
UN to Invest More
As revealed by the UN Office at Nairobi (UNON), the organization is investing additional total of $62 million in the construction of new office blocks and renovations across the 140-acre (57-hectare) site.
The expansion of the complex is set to increase capacity by about 20 per cent. This will therefore allow more UN agencies, funds, and programs to move parts of their regional and global operations to Kenya
UN to Construct a New Conference Facility and Upgrade the Existing One
Additionally, the UN is undertaking a $265.6 million project to build a new conference facility and upgrade the existing one.
Once complete, the venues will be able to host up to 9,000 delegates up from the current 2,000.
The expansion cements Nairobi’s position as a top-tier global diplomatic hub, placing Kenya at the heart of multilateral decision-making in the Global South.
Strategically, it enhances Kenya’s soft power. This is by giving the nation giving it a stronger voice in shaping UN policy, especially on African and developing world priorities.
It also signals long-term stability and trust in Kenya as a host for sensitive global operations and negotiations.
This is even as UN complex in Gigiri, Nairobi, is already undergoing extensive infrastructure improvements as the city prepares to accommodate additional UN agencies by 2026.
Nairobi Emerges as a Hub for Global Organizations
Kenya’s capital Nairobi has emerged as a top location for global organisations. The city’s infrastructure provides the foundation for it to function as a regional and global hub, enabling seamless operations for multinational corporations and international bodies.
Nairobi also seeks to develop the Nairobi Metropolitan Integrated Transport System which will further improve the city’s transport infrastructure. It will increase operational efficiency and productivity in the city by cutting commute times therefore increasing punctuality. This will improve the performance of these organisations as they can conduct their day to day operations smoothly.
