Expect 75-storey buildings in Nairobi if Assembly approves zoning framework

After his Sunday revelation that tall buildings will now be constructed in areas such as Eastleigh, Kileleshwa and Lavington, Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has added that the constructions might go higher in other areas around the city. 

“25 floors was area specific (around airbase) and not a blanket restriction. We have proposed an area specific zoning framework that goes up to 75 floors in some areas. It is before the assembly,” Sakaja posted on X. 

The Governor argued that the County Government will invest heavily in sewer and water infrastructure to support the new city plan. 

“Traffic, health and educational facilities as well as provision for green spaces will be mandatory in this framework,” he added. 

Sakaja further argued that not all constructions will be approved as they have to fit desired standards. 

"There are other considerations such as plot ratios, ground coverage, area character etc that will be considered," he said.

"We can only go up but must do so responsibly. And we shall."

Amid uproar over the construction of high-rise buildings in Kileleshwa and Lavington areas, the Governor said on Sunday that the capital is taking an inevitable expansion trajectory and more room is needed to accommodate more Kenyans. 

"I have heard people complaining that areas of Kileleshwa and Lavington, our homes were one-storey now apartments have come. Nairobi is 696 square kilometers in 2050 it will have a population of 10.5 million people. Will we expand Nairobi? No the only place we have to go is up" he said, insisting on the need to fix sewerage and water infrastructure to accommodate new city plan. 

He said President William Ruto gave him the green light to construct high-rise apartments in the city after scrapping an existing restriction that remained in force for eons.

There has been public uproar from residents of Kileleshwa, who have blamed the Governor for converting the once leafy suburb into a concrete jungles of high-rise apartment blocks.

Kileleshwa had been initially categorized as Zone Four by the Nairobi City Council, where no permits were granted for buildings going beyond the fourth-floor.