Inside Mombasa’s Sh19bn Affordable Housing Project

Mombasa County is undertaking an ambitious affordable housing project that seeks to increase the supply of inexpensive homes in the Kenyan coastal city.

The first phase of the development will see a total of 6,800 one- to three-bedroom units constructed in several estates in Mombasa at a cost of about Sh19 billion.

The houses will be built in Buxton, Mzizima, Likoni, Changamwe, Khadija, and Miritini estates within the Mvita, Changamwe, Nyali, and Likoni sub-counties.

According to ex-County Lands, Physical Planning and Housing chief officer June Mwajuma, phase one of the project is expected to be completed by 2024.

In an earlier interview with KNA, Dr Mwajuma said the public-private housing project is a joint venture where the county gives land to investors for the construction of homes.

“Under the agreement, the investors sell a certain percentage of the developed housing units, as per the affordable housing framework developed by the national government and the county gets back a certain percentage to house its staff,” Dr Mwajuma said.

The houses will be sold at a Sh200,000 discount on the prevailing market value.

According to Dr Mwajuma, about 114 families have moved from the Mzizima to allow Jabavu Village Limited to build a Sh5 billion modern estate on the site.

The project involves the construction of 1,700 homes – 500 one-bedroom units, 600 two-bedroom units, and 600 three-bedroom units – within 18 to 24 months.

Buxton estate

This comes over a year after the start of the Buxton project, which includes the construction of 1,900 units: 600 one-bedroom units, 700 two-bedroom units, and 600 three-bedroom units.

The project, which has been in the works since 2016, suffered a legal blow in October 2020 after 13 residents moved to Court to stop its inauguration, saying they were protected tenants who could not be evicted by the county government.

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However, in a March 2021 ruling, Justice Sila Munyao dismissed the petition saying the county had given the applicants enough time to vacate and even volunteered to pay them.

Justice Munyao said there was no violation of the tenants’ rights in the way they were expected to move out – dismissing their claim of being protected tenants.

Meanwhile, Mombasa County has signed a deal with Goldland Rinco Company Limited for the construction of 3,200 low-cost units valued at Sh8 billion in Likoni.

The Likoni Flats and Likoni Customs estates will be made up of 600 one-bedroom units, 1,000 two-bedroom units, and 1,600 three-bedroom units.

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