Actis to build Sh11 billion warehouses

Real estate private equity firm Actis and South Africa’s Improvon Group are due to start construction of a Sh11 billion industrial park.

The development is next to the Kenyatta family’s proposed city in the outskirts of Nairobi.

The companies bought off 103 acres from Kenyatta’s Northlands off the Eastern bypass where it will build the Nairobi Gate Industrial Park over the next five years.

The development will offer industrial and logistical support for local and international companies, with quick access to key logistics and transport hubs such as Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and the Embakasi-based Inland Container Depot.

Improvon and Actis hope the construction of the first two warehouses will be completed in July next year, and that they will have filled the land in five years. Stefano Contardo, Improvon chief executive, said yesterday Nairobi Gate would target light industries, warehousing and distribution firms as clients.

He said the industrial park would bring a unique “build to suit” concept, which has been necessitated by demand for modern, flexible and efficient warehousing facilities, to Nairobi.

“The offices and warehouses can be customised with specific features upon tenant request,” said Contardo (pictured) when the two firms announced the investment plans in Nairobi.

Actis Real Estate Director Koome Gikunda said Nairobi Gate would change the face of warehousing and logistics property, with firms migrating to better locations and combining to single facilities to achieve economies of scale and operational efficiency. “We bring something unique to the market, not just from a development point of view but also in our approach,” said Gikunda.

The Nairobi Gate development will offer the latest in green design and sustainability practices that optimise natural light.