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Kenya’s President William Ruto took part in ground-breaking ceremonies on 9 August for low-cost housing projects in the Kirinyaga and Kiambu counties in central Kenya.  

The Thika affordable housing project in Kiambu is being constructed in phases, with the latest phase to feature 975 units built by Jua Kali artisans. The Gichugu project in Kirinyaga will include 110 units on 1.5 acres of land, including studio, 2-bed and 3-bed apartments. 

Launch of Affordable Housing, Gichugu, Kirinyaga County. https://t.co/MdGpznZY1B

— William Samoei Ruto, PhD (@WilliamsRuto) August 9, 2023

“A total of 10,000 housing units will be launched this week in Kiambu county,” said President Ruto in his speech at the Thika project’s ground-breaking ceremony. “This week alone we have advertised for the construction of 50,000 housing units in Kenya. We are going to be building 200,000 houses every year.”

At the Gichugu ground-breaking ceremony, the president reiterated his commitment to supporting the Kirinyaga county in various development projects, such as the upcoming Sagana Industrial Park for which the government had previously allocated a grant of KES250 million (US$1.8 million). The president said the government will allocate another KES5 billion to the industrial park, the construction of which will be launched before the end of the year. 

According to a report published in May by the State Department for Housing & Urban Development, Kenya has more than 524 sites with over 7,000 acres on which low-cost housing projects can be undertaken. There are 46,027 housing units under construction and 30,000 units in the pipeline.

Photo: Ground-breaking ceremony (Source: Twitter/X @AnneWaiguru)