Kenya is engaging the World Bank to unlock housing supply to amplify President William Ruto’s housing agenda and to help bridge the current annual deficit of 250,000 residential units.
In a Monday meeting with the World Bank in Nairobi, the Housing Principal Secretary Charles Hinga said Affordable Housing Programme (AHP) will be one of the biggest in the Country in the next five years.
Hinga told the World Bank team to customize their Result Based Finance to support the project.
Having secured Ksh.3.8 billion in funding from the National Treasury, the National Housing Corporation (NHC) has identified projects that can be launched and begin construction within four months, becoming a part of the quick-wins strategy for the housing agenda.
“The AHP has focused on the identification and prioritisation of special planning areas where human settlements are likely to grow the fastest,” said Housing Principal Secretary Charles Hinga.
With the World Bank on board, the main objective will be to increase the housing supply through increased private-sector participation.
The cooperation will focus more on access to basic infrastructure services and new household connections such as water, sewerage, and roads.
The World Bank team was led by Judy Baker the Global Lead, Urban Poverty and Housing and Lead Economist, Urban for Africa, Sheila Kamunyori and Keziah Mwangi.
AHP is premised on a Rent-to-Own objective where one pays an equivalent of the amount they pay for rent but own a unit in the end after completing the payments.
Populous counties will get the bulk of housing projects under President Ruto’s housing agenda.
Out of a total of 39,012 housing units by the National Housing Corporation (NHC) in 35 counties, Mombasa leads with 11,166 proposed units, followed by Machakos (10,681), Uasin Gishu (2,362), Homa Bay (2,038) and Kericho (1,597) rounding up the five counties with the most proposed residential units.
In Mombasa County, Changamwe Redevelopment will have the most units at 9,750. Jomo Kenyatta Makande will have 749, Redevelopment Bububu Housing Scheme will have 587, while Likoni Housing Scheme will have 80.
In Machakos County, Stoni Athi Housing Scheme will host the most units at 10,585 while both the NHC Athi River Housing Scheme and Kithimani Housing Scheme will have 138 units.
There are four proposed projects in Uasin Gishu County: Eldoret Kidiwa Redevelopment (1,119 units), Eldoret Bondeni (526 units), Eldoret Kapsuswa Redevelopment (502 units) and Kapsuswa Kipchoge Housing Scheme (215 units).
Three projects in Homa Bay County – Gingo Housing Scheme, Homa Bay County AHP and Mbita Housing Scheme – will make up slightly over 2,000 units.
In Kericho County, the proposed units will be distributed between Kipkelion Housing Scheme with 1,251 and Kericho Mortgage Housing Scheme with 346.
Interestingly, Nairobi has only 809 proposed projects in the pipeline: Mariguini Housing Scheme (534 units), Pumwani Housing Scheme (227 units) and Kibera Karanja Housing Scheme (46 units).
Counties with the least number of proposed housing project units are Bomet (99), Vihiga (80), Kisii and Nyamira (59), and Kakamega (49).
