The government has announced that the affordable housing program in Mukuru is set to receive its first batch of tenants by December 2024.
In what marks a key achievement for President Ruto’s administration, the first phase of the project is 99% complete with over 13,000 housing units, according to the State Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Eng. Benjamin Njenga.
“The five blocks are ready and we anticipate that by December, we will be giving out the units to the people of Mukuru. What is remaining is the installation of lifts which the State Department has already procured.”
The affordable housing project aims to construct 100,000 housing units across the country in a bid to curb informal settlement and create employment opportunities. The Mukuru housing project commenced in 2022 with construction taking place along Enterprise Road in the Industrial Area, Nairobi.
President William Ruto during a launch of an affordable housing project.
PCS
In aligning with the government’s Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), the project aims to uplift the living standards of Kenyans at the bottom of the economic pyramid and has so far employed over 160,000 people countrywide.
Currently, the Mukuru housing project is the largest in construction in Kenya sitting on 56 acres of land and is set to have 26 block bedsitters, 14 block one-bedroom units, and 14 block two-bedroom units.
While inspecting the project in 2023, President Ruto pledged to prioritise residents of Mukuru to reduce slum settlement in the area.
The project was constructed to the tune of Ksh7 billion through the Housing Fund. Pricing for the units is set to be Ksh3,000 for the bedsitters, Ksh4,000 for one-bedroom units, and Ksh5,000 for two-bedroom units every month. According to President William Ruto, these prices serve as mortgage fees for a 30-year period that will result in permanent ownership.
The completion of the Mukuru housing project signifies another major breakthrough after President Ruto signed into law the Affordable Housing Bill earlier this year in March. The law provides a framework for the collection of the housing levy and implementation of the affordable housing programme.
Residents in the Mukuru housing project are set to enjoy social amenities like schools, a hospital, a special economic zone (SEZ) to promote economic growth, and child care centers.
If all goes well, President Ruto is set to formally open up the housing units to residents of Mukuru. Other affordable housing projects within Nairobi include Shauri Moyo, Starehe and Kibra. The aforementioned projects have all commenced and are under construction.
Across the country, housing projects in Nakuru, Kisumu, Kiambu, Kwale, Meru, and Bungoma counties have all been launched and are in motion. Throughout the President’s tenure, close to a million housing units are earmarked to have been constructed and inhabited.
An affordable housing project at Mukuru in Nairobi
PCS
