Kenya struggles to give life to futuristic city

Men at work at Konza Complex Phase One two years ago.

Labourers milled around an unfinished eight-storey building in an expansive field in Konza dotted with zebra and antelope - the only visible sign of progress in a decade-old plan to turn Kenya into Africa’s leading technology hub by 2030.

Grandiose plans, red tape and a lack of funding have left Konza Technopolis - the Sh1.5 trillion new city to be built some 60 kilometres southeast of Nairobi - way behind schedule on its goal of having 20,000 people on site by 2020.