The Standard Home and Away
Date: 11.06.2015
Page 10
Article size: 380 cm2
ColumnCM: 84.44
AVE: 202666.66
Scramble for Nairobi's skyline
Over the last 10 years, the city has experienced a
revival in the construction sector, with tall buildings
coming up rapidly. But how high can we go? JAMES
WANZALA examines
robi's skyline with the 33­floor Times
ic Kenyatta International Tower (140 metres), which was com­
Conference Centre (KICC) pleted in 2000; Teleposta Towers (120
was synonymous with Nai­ metres) completed in 2000; KICC (105
robi. Standing at 105 metres, KICC metres, 28 floors) completed in 1974;
ruled the capital's skyline until Times NSSF Building (103 metres, 28 floors)
Tower took over.
finished inl990; and Kenya Commer­
For over 40 years, the icon­
However, KICC and Times Tower
are set to face stiff competition from
new commercial buildings coming up
in the city. In Upper Hill, UAP Tower
is nearing completion. The 33­storey
building being developed by UAP
Properties Limited will be 163 metres
cial Bank Plaza (100 metres, 24 floors)
finished 2013.
The scramble for Nairobi's skyline
is not over, however. The National
Environment Management Authority
(Nema) last year received a propos­
al from a firm planning to put up a
On completion, UAP Tower will be twin­tower commercial building in
a Grade A office development with Nairobi.
Nema said in a Kenya gazette no­
very high quality and durable granite
finishes, generous parking (over 800 tice in October last year that it had re­
parking spaces) and fire and safety ceived a proposal from labavu Village
provisions (fire detection and alarm Ltd to build a 45­story building. The
warning systems). It will also have a building will be constructed on a 2.5­
fireman's lift, sprinkler system, jockey acre plot at the junction of Upper Hill
pump, water storage tanks, fire hy­ Road and Haile Selassie Avenue.
There are also other proposed
drant with hose reel provision and a
building management system (BMS). projects, some of which will be as
high as 270 metres with 70 floors.
Green­building features incor­
porated in the design of the building Currently, Britam Towers (193 metres
include natural ventilation, light­ and 31 floors) is under construction.
ing control with motion and occu­ Hazina Trade Centre (180 metres) will
pancy sensors and use of LED and have 40 floors. It is currently under
energy­saving fittings to achieve low construction.
consumption of energy in public area.
The development comes on the
back of high demand for Grade A of­
fices by multinationals in Nairobi,
which is becoming a regional busi­
tall.
ness hub.
According to Dominic Kiarie,
group managing director of UAP,
property development has been
one of the key segments of the UAP
Group's operations.
"Our current portfolio is valued at
over Shl5.4 billion as per the last valu­
ation undertaken in 2014. This covers
Union House, Equity Centre, Telkom
Plaza and UAP Tower in Nairobi; UAP
Insurance House, Nakawa House and
Nakawa Business Park in Kampala;
UAP Apartments and Equatorial Tow­
er in fuba, South Sudan and a mixed
prime property in Kigali, Rwanda," he
said.
"We are currently in the final
phase of completion of the UAP Tow­
er in Upper Hill, which on completion
will stand at 5,700 feet above sea level
with 33 stories and a total of 350,000
square feet of office space available to
let," he said, adding that the project
will be completed early next year.
UAP Tower will compete for Nai­
Ipsos Kenya ­ Acorn House,97 James Gichuru Road ­ Lavington ­ Nairobi ­ Kenya
The Standard Home and Away
Date: 11.06.2015
Page 10
Article size: 380 cm2
ColumnCM: 84.44
AVE: 202666.66
The world's tallest buildings
The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CT­
BUH)wasformedinl969 and normally announces the
"The World's Tallest Building" and sets the standards
by which buildings are measured. It maintains a list
of 100 tallest completed buildings in the world. The
CTBUH only recognises buildings that are complete.
The 223­metre, 50­floor Carlton Centre located
in downtown Johannesburg, South Africa, is the
tallest building in Africa followed by Ponte City
Apartments, which stands at 173 metres with 54
floors, also in South Africa. Egypt's 43­storey El
Gezira Tower is the third tallest building in Afri­
ca, while Dubai's Burj Khalifa is the tallest in the
world at 828 metres high, with 163 floors built in
2010. It is expected to be followed by Shangai Tow­
er in China at 632 metres high, which is expected
to have 128 floors. It will be completed this year.
The third tallest building in the world is One World
Trade Centre in New York City, which is 541.3 metres
high and has 104 floors. It was completed in 2014.
The fourth tallest building in the world will be CTF
Finance Centre in Guangzhou, China, at 530 metres
high. When completed in 2016, it will have 111 floors.
The fifth tallest building in the world is Taipei 101 in
Taipei, Taiwan, standing 509 metres tall and having
101 floors. It was completed in 2004.
¦By JAMES WANZALA
Ipsos Kenya ­ Acorn House,97 James Gichuru Road ­ Lavington ­ Nairobi ­ Kenya
The Standard Home and Away
Date: 11.06.2015
Page 10
Article size: 380 cm2
ColumnCM: 84.44
AVE: 202666.66
A section of
Upper Hill's
commercial
hub. BELOW:
KICC (left) and
Times Tower in
Nairobi's cen­
tral business
district. UAP
Tower, a new
commercial
building in
Upper Hill, will
be one of the
tallest build­
ings in the city.
[PHOTO: WILBER­
FORCE OKWIRI AND
JENIPHERWACHIE/
STANDARD]
Ipsos Kenya ­ Acorn House,97 James Gichuru Road ­ Lavington ­ Nairobi ­ Kenya