Developer targets low-end market with Sh2.5bn Mlolongo housing project

A housing project. Diamond Property Merchants is set to build low-cost houses in Mlolongo on a five-acre piece of land. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP 

By SIMON CIURI

In Summary

• A two-bedroom house will go for Sh4.5 million and a bed-sitter for Sh1.8 million.
• “Out of the ten acres we have earmarked for this project, most acres will be used to set up two-bedroom houses that will consist of 280 housing units while the remaining acreage will accommodate 200 bedsitters,” chairman Josphat Gichunge told the Business Daily.

Real-estate developer Diamond Property Merchants is putting up Sh2.5 billion low-cost residential units in Mlolongo.

The project, which is mostly financed by five banks including Family Bank and comprises two-bedroom and bedsitters on a ten-acre plot, will be funded through a mix of debt and internal cash.

A two-bedroom house will go for Sh4.5 million and a bed-sitter for Sh1.8 million.

The groundbreaking, according to the firm, takes place early next year. They should be complete in two years.

“Out of the ten acres we have earmarked for this project, most acres will be used to set up two-bedroom houses that will consist of 280 housing units while the remaining acreage will accommodate 200 bedsitters,” chairman Josphat Gichunge told the Business Daily.

The firm is banking on the proximity of the development to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi to attract potential homeowners to the area.

The firm said the investment in the area had been informed by the emerging industries both in Mlolongo and its environs which have created a lot of human traffic.

“Banks are funding 80 per cent of the project while the remaining amount is coming from our own savings,” said Mr Gichunge adding that the lenders have previously funded its projects.

Diamond Property Merchants have investment in Joska, Kangundo Road, Kamulu, Ruiru East, Juja Farm, Isinya, Thika and Nairobi.

Diamond Property Merchants has been focusing more on selling plots and the new diversification seeks to boost its revenue streams