The county government of Nairobi plans to build at least 14,000 modern but cheap houses in Nairobi's slum areas.

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The plan is anchored in the Urban Renewal Programme that targets at availing affordable housing units for the city's informal settlements residents.

Its first phase will involve the construction of houses in Kibera and the surrounding informal settlements.

"Nairobi County government pledges to make more land available for the construction of houses in Nairobi in line with the realisation of Kenya’s National Housing Policy, Poverty Reduction Strategy Policies, Kenya Vision 2030 and the Global Millennium Development Goals specifically Goal Number seven which target at improving the lives of 100 million informal settlement dwellers by the year 2020," Governor Evans Kidero said on Friday when he officiated the opening some of the houses already built.

The governor added that Nairobi County government's Urban Renewal Programme will greatly ensure more homes are availed at affordable prices as well as improve the social and physical infrastructure services.

The event was held at Kibera's Soweto zone where the new houses built under the Kenya Slum Upgrading Programme were handed over to residents.

The second phase of the programme will be implemented in Eastlands.

According to the Ministry of Housing, Kenya's urban centres face a shortage of about 200,000 housing units every year with only 50,000 housing units being constructed annually.

Approximately, 100,000 Kenyans living in rural areas move to Nairobi in search of employment, a development that overstretches the city's housing industry.