KENYA : The Kenyattas are among the wealthiest Families in the country and perhaps in the African continent, boasting of a vast investment portfolio cutting across various sectors of the economy.
One of the Kenyatta family's interests is real estate, with the multibillion Northlands City project located in Ruiru, Kiambu County standing out.
The Kenyatta family is building a city that will have residential, industrial, and commercial units hosting about 250,000 people on an 11,000-acre parcel of land.
The project is estimated to cost about Ksh 500 billion to complete.
The Ruiru-based land is traversed by the Eastern By-pass and currently hosts the family's dairy processor, Brookside Dairy Limited and also it's beef rearing business listed under Gicheha Farm.
According to Northlands City’s master plan, 3,570 acres have been allocated for housing units. 3,134 acres have been earmarked for low-density housing, 306 acres for high-density housing, and 130 acres for medium-density residential housing units.
The low-density housing segment will have 601 villas and 1,320 townhouses, the medium-density area is reserved for 670 townhouses and 368 housing units in blocks of flats.
The master plan further indicates that the high-density residential segment will have 6,980 units on blocs of flats and 3,100 townhouses.
Another 390 acres have been earmarked for a business district, some 33 acres have been set aside for a shopping mall or hotel and 2 acres for a clubhouse.
An industrial park will rest on 695 acres of land. 650 of the total acreage has been earmarked for a logistics park. The remainder will be occupied by Brookside Dairies.
Construction works commenced at Northlands City in October 2018 and will see all the plots connected to roads, water, sewer, electricity, and the Internet.
1,697 acres have been earmarked for an open recreational space, and a further 266 acres set aside for water features.
5,156 acres have been set aside for wildlife conservation and agriculture with Gicheha Farm as the main occupant.
The Northlands City master plan will be executed in four phases over a span of 50 years.
LAND IN NAIROBI.
A recent Report revealed that land in Ruaka is more expensive than Nairobi surburbs such as Karen, Kitisuru, Runda, and Langata.
Land prices in Ruaka now cost Ksh111.2 million per acre compared to Karen, Kitisuru and Runda which go for Ksh 69 million, Ksh98.2 million and Ksh93.3 million respectively.
In Nairobi suburbs, Upperhill leads with Ksh522.7 million per acre and the lowest growing being Karen with Ksh69 million.
The lowest rising in Nairobi Satellite towns is Kiserian with an acre costing Ksh12 million.
Land prices in Nairobi’s satellite towns grew by just 1.0% in Q4 2024, marking the slowest rate in 18 months as economic challenges and high interest rates dented demand from middle-class buyers.
A JULISHA.CO.KE Expert attributes the sluggish growth to reduced developer financing and cooling demand in towns like Thika and Mlolongo, which saw quarterly price growth drop to 0.9% and 1.1%, respectively.
According to the Survey, suburbs like Parklands and Upperhill outpaced others with higher price gains, driven by strong demand for standalone units and limited supply.