Nairobi governor Mike Sonko has on Monday October 15 pledged to construct 200,000 affordable housing units within Nairobi which will cost less than Ksh 3 million within the next five years.
Speaking during the second urban dialogue on delivering affordable housing in Nairobi, Sonko confirmed that already phase one of urban regeneration programme that targets between 10,000 and 12,000 housing units has been rolled out.
“We have already called for expressions of interest for Phase Two, and other phases will follow immediately thereafter. In total, we plan to deliver about 200,000 units as Nairobi County Government,” he said.
"We are negotiating a 70:30 ratio with developers, where every project must have at least 70 per cent houses under Sh3. The developers can then build more expensive units on 30 per cent of the project," he added.
However, he stated that his administration is facing hurdles in the construction of the houses since a number of parcels of land earmarked for the housing project are on the flight path of the Moi Air Base and Wilson Airport.
“I am appealing to the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority to call a meeting with the Nairobi City County Government, the Department of Defence and Ministry of Transport to clearly map out the flight paths. This will allow us to build taller buildings in areas outside this path," he said.
Mukuru and Mji wa Huruma slums are among the informal settlements marked for upgrading.
Previously, part of Kibera was been upgraded by the government but a section of the residents sold the houses to go back to their shacks.