Dr James Mworia, Centum Group CEO(third-right), Mr Kenneth Mbae, Centum Real Estate Managing Director (third-left), Mr Devendra Hirani (centre) of Seyani Construction and the Centum Real estate team during a construction inspection tour of Loft Residences at Two Rivers. Centum RE broke ground on phase 1 of its Mzizi Court housing project at the Two Rivers development complex. [Standard]

Centum Re has broken ground on the first phase of its residential housing units nestled within the 102-acre Two Rivers development complex. This was after the units were overbooked by more than half.

Centum Re Managing Director Mr Kenneth Mbae said 450 customers have already paid cash deposits committing to buy the apartments overshooting the phase one supply by more than 66 per cent.

Phase one of the housing project comprises 270 one, two and three-bedroom apartments priced from Sh4.9 million and with a flexible payment plan.

Before groundbreaking on any project, Centum requires a customer pre-booking of at least one-third of the units on sale. “The demand exceeds supply supported by the expected double-digit rental yield which supports us to launch phase two soon,” said Mr Mbae.

Centum Re is a fully-owned subsidiary of Centum Investment Company.

The real estate developer has completed the construction of 45 per cent of the homes in its portfolio of residential projects in Kenya, while 55 per cent are at various stages of development.

Mr Mbae termed project groundbreaking as one of Centum Re’s “moments of impact” during which the firm triggers hundreds of construction jobs to stimulate the local economy while delivering the firm's promise to build affordable homes for investors on time.

Mzizi Court apartments at Two Rivers is just a few minutes' drive to and from key diplomatic missions and corporate firms.

Landmark Holdings will undertake the project, having completed 514 houses in Palm Ridge and Awali at the Vipingo Development project in Kilifi.

The construction of the Mzizi Court apartments is expected to take 24 months.