Kisumu city is set for a major housing revolution following the unveiling of a Sh120 billion mixed-use housing project.
The LV Marina, a partnership between GulfCap Real Estate and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga will include bespoke waterfront villas, high end apartments, state of the art social infrastructure, light industrial parks, commercial hubs featuring retail centres, hotels, conference facilities and schools.
GulfCap Real Estate Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Chris Ochieng said the project strategically located five minutes from Kisumu International Airport (KIA) and along the shores of Lake Victoria also comes with 1,200 affordable housing units.
This, he said, shall be driven by demand adding that the company was seeking strategic partnerships in order to deliver the project within the set timeframe.
“As a company we have the resources to deliver this project however there are other aspects like the social amenities, schools and health facilities where we are looking to partner with players in the sectors to have them in place,” he said.
Speaking in Kisumu on Saturday during the groundbreaking ceremony for the project, Ochieng said the project which will take six years to complete comes after the successful completion of the Sh6 billion Buxtan point in Mombasa and Sh20 billion starehe point in Nairobi and will go a long way in boosting Kisumu city’s stature.
GulfCap Real Estate Founder and Chairman Hon Sulleiman Shahbal said the project to be constructed on a 285 acres piece of land owned by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga was set to generate thousands of jobs for Kisumu residents and the neighbouring counties.
The luxury villas and conference facilities, he added, will boost tourism and trade boosting the economy of the lakeside city.
Speaking during the same occasion, former Prime Minister Raila Odinga lauded the partnership saying time has come for the private sector to play an active role in the country’s housing agenda.
Rural -Urban migration, he added, was still on the rise exerting pressure on the existing housing infrastructure adding that the government alone cannot address the housing gaps in the country.
The project located on the shores of Lake Victoria and next to Kisumu International Airport, he said will give impetus to the country’s drive to shore up tourism numbers given the modern hotels, Marina and conference facilities to be constructed.
This, he added, will have a ripple effect on the economy of Kisumu which is the third largest city in the country opening up opportunities for trade and investments.
Housing Principal Secretary (PS) Charles Hinga lauded the project saying it will go a long way in narrowing the gap in shortage of houses in the country.
The government’s affordable housing project, he said, was on course with plans underway to allocate the completed units to Kenya in the next two months.
“Because of the sacrifices we are making, we have made tremendous progress on the affordable housing project and in the next 60 days we shall start handing over the keys to eligible Kenyans,” he said.
He asked Kenyans to apply for the units on the Boma Yangu platform ahead of the official handing over.
To accelerate the affordable housing agenda, the State Department for Housing and Urban Development, he said, has developed a policy to pave the way for government partnership with the private sector to deliver the housing units.
This, he said, will see the government put up houses on private land to scale up the coverage of the initiative across the country.
“To achieve our targets, we cannot only put up houses on government land. We are finalising the regulations which will provide a legal framework on how we can engage private developers and landowners to accelerate this program,” he said.
By Chris Mahandara