Mombasa: Members of the National Assembly Committee on Housing, Urban Planning, and Public Works have expressed satisfaction with the progress of the Sh7 billion Nyali Affordable Housing Programme (AHP), while urging contractors to speed up construction works. The project, which began in mid-February 2025, is now 50 percent complete and is expected to be ready within the next 18 months. However, the committee, chaired by Buuri MP Randikiri Mugambi, directed contractors to complete at least three blocks by August 2026.
According to Kenya News Agency, the multi-use development project, located on 23 acres of land in the upmarket Nyali suburb, involves the construction of 14 residential blocks comprising studio apartments, two-bedroom units, and three-bedroom units. The project is expected to help address the housing deficit in the tourist city of Mombasa. The 14 high-rise blocks are also set to redefine the area’s skyline into a modern vertical city hub. At ground level, landscaped courtyards and pedestrian walkways will connect the blocks.
Besides the housing component, the project also includes an early childhood development institution, primary and junior secondary schools, a market with 1,000 stalls, a commercial building, a community center, a clubhouse, and a wastewater treatment plant. ‘This is a housing project that the government promised. This is a project costing Sh7 billion. We will have houses here, schools, a market, a hospital, a police station, a fire station, and playing fields for various sports,’ said Committee Chairman Mugambi during an inspection tour of the project.
The chairman noted that more than 3,000 people will live in the area and lauded the government for initiating the transformative development. ‘Those who will buy these houses are residents of Nyali first, then the Coast region. This is not the only project. We have similar projects costing Sh34B in Mombasa County only,’ he stated. The legislator affirmed that the government has not left the Coast region behind in housing projects, noting that the Kwale AHP costs Sh14 billion, Tana River Sh7 billion, and Kilifi Sh11 billion.
‘As MPs, we have come here to inspect, and we are satisfied, although it is not the pace that we were expecting. We had discussions with all the constructors and our consultants. We have told them to pull up their socks to complete the projects as soon as possible,’ said Mugambi. Contractors were directed to complete and furnish three blocks for handover to wananchi in a bid to boost public confidence in ongoing government projects.
‘We have no doubt the government is working. We appeal to the Coast region residents to collaborate with the government for projects to come to this region,’ said the chairman. He noted that 45 interns are expected to gain skills through the project, while construction materials are being sourced locally and more than 1,100 workers are employed at the site. ‘Some of the youth will be retained once the project is completed. Once the project is completed, it will have both short and long-term benefits to the community.’
The committee has also inspected similar housing projects in Tana River, Kilifi, and Taita Taveta counties that are being implemented by the State Department for Housing.
Source: Kenya News Agency
