A Dubai developer plans to build a Sh5.5 billion skyscraper in Nairobi, which will comfortably exceed the height of UAP Tower – currently Kenya’s tallest building.

Abcon International LLC, a construction and drugs company, is seeking regulatory approval for construction of the towering complex that comprises a shopping mall, office block and a hotel modelled on Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands Hotel.

The stunning, yet-to-be-named skyscraper in Nairobi’s Upper Hill district will be a notch taller than the recently completed 163-metres-high UAP Tower, which is set for occupation from June.

Abcon has joined forces with six local investors – among them Hass Consult – to form a consortium known as Greenfield Developers Ltd., which will develop the property on a 3.6 acre piece of land that it acquired in 2012 at a price of Sh650 million.

The Dubai firm is the majority shareholder of the consortium with a stake of 62.6 per cent followed by Signature Development Ltd (a Kenyan firm) at 18 per cent, Hass Consult at 8.6 per cent, with Elise Adan, the owner of Nairobi-based fashion company Tullia Ltd., holding a 2.6 per cent stake.

Other shareholders include Jayesh Saini, the chairman of Clinix Healthcare – with a 0.66 per cent stake, Ilmi Investments Ltd and Bliss GVS Pharma Ltd.

“It is going to be a landmark piece of architecture, whose cost estimates could rise,” said Sakina Hassanali, head of research and marketing at Hass Consult.

The 35-storey tower will also feature luxury apartments that will occupy 17 floors – with office spaces occupying 22 floors and 1,320 parking spaces sitting on six basements and ground floors.

The National Environmental Authority (Nema) last week declared a 30-day period for the public to give their views on the proposed development.

Wealthy investors are increasingly building show-stopping skyscrapers in Nairobi despite widespread fears of a looming office-space glut in the Kenyan capital city.

Source: www.constructionkenya.com

Posted on : 02 May,2016