Centum’s Two Rivers mall set for opening next month

An artist impression of the Two Rivers Development on Limuru Road, Nairobi. PHOTO | FILE 

By MUGAMBI MUTEGI, pmutegi@ke.nationmedia.com

In Summary

• Two Rivers Mall was initially expected to open its doors last October but this date was later pushed to March 2016.

Centum’s Two Rivers mall is expected to open its doors next month following two previous postponement brought about by an expansion of the original retail space.

The shopping complex was initially to cover a total of 1.2 million square feet of land but this has increased to 1.7 million square feet.

The main reason for the expansion is a move to increase the lettable space from the original 460,000 square feet to over 700,000 square feet, according to the investment firm which is a significant shareholder in the mall.

“The additional time has been due to this over 50 per cent increase in scope of the mall driven by demand from additional retailers,” Fred Murimi, director of Centum Capital, told the Business Daily.

Centum Capital is in charge of development and execution of investment opportunities for the firm, with the multibillion shilling Two Rivers being the flagship project.

The shopping mall sits on 11 of the 102-acre property situated along Limuru Road, in close proximity to the affluent neighbourhoods of Runda, Nyari, Gigiri and Muthaiga in Nairobi.

READ: Centum to build 12MW plants for Two Rivers Mall

Two Rivers was initially expected to open its doors last October but this date was later pushed to March 2016.

“The tenants are currently fitting out and stocking their shops. We are monitoring their progress and will be able to officially communicate the opening date shortly,” said Mr Murimi.

Deacons, one of the clients at the mall, on Friday said the delay in completing the project has affected its expansion plans.

“The exciting new developments at Two Rivers and Kigali Heights in Rwanda are significantly delayed. As a result, the group has rescheduled the openings to quarter four 2016,” Deacons said in a statement.

The firm plans to have Mr Price Apparel, Mr Price Home, Bossini and Adidas stores at the shopping complex.

Other brands that are expected to set up in the three-floored mall include Adidas, Porsche, Essentials and Foschini as well as nearly a dozen banks including Sidian Bank, Prime Bank and Standard Chartered.

The mall will have 207 shops. Construction of the mall will cost about Sh15.5 billion, the apartments Sh3.8 billion while infrastructure will cost Sh5.8 billion, according to Centum.