President Ruto, UN SG Guterres to inaugurate Ksh.43.8B Nairobi expansion project

The Gigiri project, approved by the United Nations member states in December 2023, would cost $340 million (nearly Ksh.43.8 billion).

The project includes a major upgrade of the conference facilities at UNON, which will cost $265.6 million (nearly Ksh.34.3 billion) and an upgrade of office blocks to the tune of USD74.5million (nearly Ksh.9.6 billion). 

On Monday, Ruto and Guterres will break ground for the new conference facility and inaugurate the completed modern office buildings at the UN headquarters in Gigiri, Nairobi. 

In Nairobi, Guterres will also engage in high-level discussions with Kenya’s leadership and participate in regional dialogues, including the Africa Forward Summit, co-hosted by Kenya and France.

Approved by the General Assembly in 2023, the project is expected to transform Nairobi into one of the UN’s most significant global hubs.

UN Under-Secretary-General and Director-General of the United Nations Office at Nairobi, Mrs Zainab Hawa Bangura, has termed the project a defining moment for the United Nations in Africa. 

“This investment aligns our presence with where global challenges — and solutions — are increasingly concentrated. Nairobi is not only a host city; it is a strategic centre for delivering the United Nations’ work in the 21st century,” she said ahead of the Secretary General’s Nairobi visit. 

The UN General Assembly, under resolution 78/253, gave a nod to transformations to enable infrastructure development at the UNON complex in Gigiri.

The Nairobi expansion has seen agencies such as the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and UN Women relocate a number of their global operations to Nairobi. 

However, the headquarters of these agencies will remain in New York.

Currently, there are 6000 UN personnel in Kenya, with 5,000 based within the UNON complex in Gigiri working under 80 offices. The personnel run UN operations for Somalia, Sudan, peacekeeping and Special Political Missions.

The UN states that the Conference Facility Project (CFP) aims to enhance Nairobi’s ability to host large, high-level global meetings, increasing meeting capacity from the current 2,000 to 9,000 participants. 16 more meeting rooms will be constructed to add to the existing 14, and an Assembly Hall with a capacity for 1600 participants will be constructed.