AFRICANGLOBE – Chinese construction firm, Jiangxi International has beaten Kenyan Cementers Limited in the bid to build Kenya’s tallest office building, National Social Security Fund’s (NSSF) Trade Centre, after a high court upheld its tender award.
According to Business Daily, the Kenyan firm had earlier won the tender to build the 39-storey building following a Sh6 billion ($68 million) bid. However, it was later disqualified by the Public Procurement Administrative Review Board (PPARB) on grounds that it was “unresponsive”.
This led to the NSSF inviting new bids for the Hazina-owned trade centre in January, for which a court upheld the PPARB’s decision that directed the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) to award the tender to Jiangxi International, despite its appeal against the directive.
“This project has previously been dogged by a number of false starts due to attendant legal hurdles, which I am glad have now been overcome.” said Labour Cabinet Secretary Kazungu Kambi, at the start of extension work on the building.
The skyscraper will be an extension of the building Nakumatt Lifestyle, which currently has 8 floors; four basement levels, a ground floor, two mezzanines and one podium.
The high-rise building, which will be completed in 18 months, features a vegetated roof terraces, fritted glazing, a ventilated atrium, helipad and city’s viewing gallery. It will also constitute a high-end hotel that is expected to increase competition in the hospitality industry.
The project, amongst others, will attract Sh100 million ($1.15 million) in lease collection income after completion, while it will also sell off some floor space which will see it retain its real estate investment below the regulatory maximum of 30 percent.
By: Oyeniyi Adegoke
