A block of aprtments.[Photo/KBC]
The government has shortlisted 35 construction companies to pilot construction of one million housing units in the next five years.
Housing Principal Secretary Aida Munano says 60 companies expressed interest in the project whose pilot would start next month in Mavoko, Machakos County targeting 8,000 low cost housing units.
Munano says the pilot will inform how the government moves on with the project starting with five towns namely Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru, Eldoret and Kisumu.
The government has identified various innovative models on how to implement the mega project including land swapping or leasing public land to private investors.
Most county governments have mapped out areas for the project, although the national government insists that there should be public participation before actual construction starts.
Kenya has a housing deficit of about 200,000 housing units per year with an estimated 60 percent of urban residents living in the informal sector due to the shortage and escalating house prices.