A consortium of four lenders have unveiled plans to build a total of 20,000 housing units for police in an arrangement that will see the government of Kenya make periodical payments to the financiers over a period of up to 15 years.
These housing units, which will include one bedroom, bed sitters and three bedroom units, will cost roughly between Sh18 and 20 billion in a mega homes project funded by tax payer and expected to take four years.
Under the annuity funding deal, four financiers — the African Development Bank (AfDB),Shelter Afrique, KCB Group and HF Group — will offer the construction cash and receive repayment staggered over a period of 15 years.
Kenya’s Treasury secretary Henry Rotich revealed on Monday the new 20,000 units would be built across the country starting with Nairobi.
“The plan is to within 48 months deliver the 20,000 units. The estimated cost is yet to be firmed up but could range between Sh18 billion ($180million) to Sh20 billion,” Mr Rotich told said.
This is part of the government’s four-year infrastructure development project aimed at alleviating the acute housing crisis facing the National Police Service (NPS).
The houses represent a third of 60,000 additional housing units required to shelter police officers who have been forced to either live in shacks or share dwellings meant for single households, according to official studies.
A report by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) released early this year indicated that the NPS has a chronic housing shortage.
According to the report, the NPS has a shortfall of 28,922 housing units against a staff population of 39,238. It also notes that 80 per cent of Administration Police officers are not accommodated in decent houses.
On Monday, Shelter Afrique issued an international tender for the construction of the first phase of the project which comprise 4,000 housing units.
“We invite interested contractors to submit an expression of interest to provide managed construction services for this first phase of the programme,” said Shelter Afrique in a public notice.
The Africa focused housing lender said phase 1A of the programme includes associated infrastructure and external works to be delivered in four sites in Nairobi.
Mr Rotich said the project targets police stations with ample land to provide space for the project.
“There are various police stations with adequate space and land.