Real Estate
Mega projects propagating region ’ s industrial property boom !
Despite the saturation , of high end commercial and residential properties in Nairobi , industrial related property has seen an upsurge in demand , attributed to mega infrastructural projects being undertaken by government .
By George Wainaina george . wainaina @ thinkbusiness . co . ke
According to the Africa Prime Industrial Report for 2017 , Kenya is expected to become the logistics hub of the East African Region following the government ’ s recent infrastructure initiatives .
The LAPSSET programme for instance , is East Africa ’ s largest infrastructural project consisting of a 32-berth port in Lamu expected to be completed by 2020 , interregional highways to connect Kenya ,
South Sudan and Ethiopia , three international airports in Kenya and the expansion of smaller airports , and the Standard Gauge Railway from Mombasa to Nairobi , through Naivasha to Uganda and eventually to Rwanda , South Sudan and Ethiopia . The resulting transportation networks will be fuel for business in the region , leading to a demand in logistical facilities .
Currently , industrial property is clustered around Nairobi , Mombasa and Kisumu . The report by JLL , explains that the earlier industrial node establishments began in Nairobi , along Mombasa road but shortage of development land along those nodes has forced seen developers shift their attention to other emerging nodes such as Ruiru , Syokimau , Athi River , Eastern Bypass / Embakasi , Thika Road and Kikuyu .
Further , the completion of the northern and Southern bypass has increased the appeal of these areas for industrial development with high uptake , where developers are able to fill spaces within a year of completion .
22 | THINK BUSINESS • NOVEMBER 2017