A Chinese real estate company has launched an investment project dubbed “Friendship City” which will result in the establishment of a City in areas of Athi River at a cost of around Ksh200 Billion.
The mega project will involve construction of residential homes, factories, hospitals and malls among others.
The firm, Beijing Damei Investment Company is a construction giant in China. It indicated that the city will be modeled in the form of Chinese parks which normally comprise of homes, schools, factories, shopping malls, hospitals and other social amenities at a selected location.
In a report by Nation, businessman Bobby Kamani indicated on Thursday that the construction is set to start later this year on 1,200 acres of land.
Kamani also divulged that his family has a shareholding interest in the investment project via the Zuri Group of Companies.
According to estimtes, the ‘Friendship City’ will be able to host 150,000 Kenyans. It will also have the status of a Special Economic Zone, a township and five different functional parks.
The aspect of the Special Economic Zone implies that persons in the area will be enjoying tax breaks.
Jiannan Bao, the director of the company informed that the city will also attract an initial foreign direct investment of approximately Ksh201 billion into the country and Ksh756 billion once it is complete.
The project is also said to have the potential of employing 150,000 people directly and around 500,000 people indirectly. Bao was adamant that the outcome of the development would hence be “impacting over 2,000,000 lives.”
The development of satelite cities has developed to become a norm for many kenyans, especially those living around Nairobi, in the recent past.
Examples of such developments include the famous Tatu City and Konza City.
Chinese companies have also been the lead contractors in such developments which seem to have captured the minds and aspirations of the nation’s rapidly growing middle class with desires to work and reside in gated communities.
