Inside Kenyatta Family's Ksh500 Billion Northlands City

The Kenyatta family is among the wealthiest in the country and perhaps in the African continent. They boast a vast investment portfolio cutting across various sectors of the economy.

In this segment, Nairobileo.co.ke will take a dive into the family's interests in real estate, and in particular, the multibillion Northlands City project located in Ruiru, Kiambu County.

On an 11,000-acre parcel of land, the Kenyatta family is building a city that will have residential, industrial, and commercial units hosting about 250,000 people.

The project is estimated to cost about Ksh500 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.

A report by Daily Nation in 2016 indicated that land within the industrial park had been put up for sale for Ksh40 million per acre after an investor pumped money into the project.

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