Market hype after 2013 launch

When the then President Mwai Kibaki launched the Konza Technology City in January 2013, real estate investors trooped in there. Local brokers were even faster in pitching at the nearby Malili market center to cash in on the anticipated land market. Perhaps all were then unaware about the details and pathway to establishing such an intricate private public partnership venture. Speculative land purchases don’t quite apply.

Need for support infrastructure

Understandably, the hopes of such fast lane speculators ditched with the passage of time since not much happened around the techno park soon after. The anticipated demand didn’t quite bloom. But though the speed has been a source of much anxiety and discussion, the development of Konza techno city remains on course. Renowned Architect and Konza Technopolis Development Authority (KoTDA) Board Chair Dr Reuben Mutiso aptly observes, “Doing such cities is a tough thing. If we were just going to do a Mlolongo or an Ongata Rongai, we’d have finished by now. We’d have subdivided the land and given it out to developers without caring about their capacity and without preparing the infrastructure”.

One must admit that the task for the KoTDA team has been, and remains, daunting. Breathing life into a technology park situated right in the middle of this virgin dry savanna grassland patch defined by the convergence of Machakos, Makueni and Kajiado Counties isn’t work for the feeble. Some have sharply critiqued the progress made hitherto. I have therefore been keen to get a first-hand account. When I recently found myself within the proximity of this park, I seized the opportunity to have some good look and reflect.

Internal and external pull factors falling in place

Unlike therebefore, the now fully fenced park is a big construction site. There’s an endless flurry of activities! Construction workers are bused in and out daily. Evidently, the envisaged internal and external pull factors are beginning to fall in place. A multi-storied Headquarters for KoTDA, now complete and acting as an administrative and coordinating center, stands some short distance from the Nairobi-Mombasa highway. The installation of service infrastructure such as power, access roads, street lighting, water and sanitation, along with internet within the vast park is ongoing. The park enjoys strategic access to the new Standard Gauge Railway and the Nairobi-Mombasa superhighway. The dual carriageway, save for some minor final touch-ups, now runs all the way to the Machakos town junction, making air connectivity to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport quite expedient.

Opportune moment for investors

I think time it’s time for interested investors to book in. Real estate developers may consider seizing opportunities to supply office and hospitality facilities, along with staff housing, within the park. But only on leasehold for terms not exceeding 99 years. I was however quite worried by the direction the growth of the nearby Malili market is taking. It’s embryonic and informal, with little evidence of proactive efforts to enforce planning standards. And unless this is quickly checked, it could get worse and undermine neighbourhood optics for the techno park.

Dated: 18^th March, 2022