Innovation

Nairobi Unveils Fully Digital System for Construction

This is expected to revolutionise the city’s construction industry.

Updated on

April 27, 2020

House plan — Manual submission of plans was discontinued. PHOTO/FILE

Nairobi County is set to unveil a new digital platform for building approvals and inspections, in a move expected to revolutionise one of the city’s most important economic sectors.

The e-construction system, which comprises three modules – online application of approval plans, online QR Code system, and e-inspection -, is expected to reduce approval time for permits while simplifying inspection of buildings in the city.

The first two modules are already in place, with City Hall expected to activate the e-inspection unit in June after testing the operations of the QR Code system that was activated earlier this month.

“This system is still under development but we hope to finish it within the next two months so that we now have a full digital system for approving building plans and determining whether people are adhering to whatever was approved,” Lands and Urban Planning Executive Charles Kerich said in an interview.

The QR Code system provides unique identification of all approved architectural and structural plans, thereby eliminating the requirement for developers to submit hard copies of development plans for stamping upon approval to actualise their designs.

The code will appear on the front page of an approved plan, and all approvals will have a unique identification showing that they are genuine.

Mr Kerich said the e-inspection system will go hand in hand with the zoning policy that will inform the development guidelines for each area in the Kenyan capital.

The new system comes weeks after Nairobi moved to speed up clearance of construction permits that have been pending since June last year when Governor Mike Sonko disbanded the committee tasked with authorising projects.

The stagnation of building approvals saw the value of housing projects in Nairobi falling to Sh141 billion in 2019 from Sh210 billion in 2018.

In March, Mr Kerich announced that his team had scheduled weekly meetings on Wednesdays to expedite the review and approval of low-risk development applications.

This has resulted in approvals of some high-profile projects that had stalled due to delayed approval, including Mi Vida Homes on Thika Road, and 88 Nairobi Condo in Upper Hill.