County to use Sh60m on Eastlands infrastructure
Nairobi has allocated Sh60 million to lay the groundwork for 80,000 houses on its land in Eastlands.
The county owns about 2,000 acres in the area which it aims to develop through a public private partnership.
The county government will lay the supporting infrastructure — roads, sewer and water lines—in Eastlands which would convert it to a mini city of 650,000 residents.
The upgrade plan which was unveiled last November targets Bahati, Mbotela, Ziwani, Makongeni, Kaloleni, Jericho and Shauri Moyo estates.
Budget
The budget estimates also made a final allocation for the integrated city development master plan.
The city’s blueprint is expected to be completed by June, and will be used as a guide for developments.
It aims to consolidate plans to avoid roads having to be dug up repeatedly for water or sewer pipes or power lines.
About Sh280 million has been allocated for updating the 1980 roll that is currently the basis on which land rates are levied.
Update
Essentially, this will bring up to date the values of land across the city, giving City Hall updated data on which to peg rates.
The recent doubling of land rates has been criticised as having been arbitrary given that the existing roll is more than 30 years old.
On the revenue side, City Hall expects to collect Sh1.2 billion in the next financial year from building permits approvals.
These are priced at 1.25 per cent of total construction cost. The amount is Sh400 million higher than this year’s collection.