Wealthy foreign investors are flooding Vipingo in Kilifi County to build posh houses and other residential units.
The expansion of the Mombasa - Malindi Road is one of the factors behind the rapid development in the area.
Speaking on Thursday, February 2, Ian Sheywood, one of the investors in Vipingo, stated that controlled development appealed to foreigners looking for holiday and peaceful homes to settle along the Kenyan Coast.
"Vipingo in itself is actually exploding with life. New commercial and residential opportunities are attracting investors in this area," Sheywood stated.
"You have been able to see that we have maintained trees and landscaped. So we take a very key interest in maintaining nature," he added.
Corroborating Sheywood's arguments, a resident revealed that the area had enacted housing policies that require land buyers to establish climate-friendly houses.
Besides setting up climate-friendly houses, new occupants must build units that match the set requirements. Huge residential apartments are not allowed.
Additionally, the mandatory requirement of planting trees continues to attract foreign investors to Vipingo.
"We have closed the gap to ensure we have organised housing, controlled environment and the general control of the developments," a resident leading the tour stated.
Supporting Vipingo real estate sprout, Kilifi Governor Gideon Mung'aro revealed that the county had set up a spatial plan to control housing development.
"We have adopted the spatial plan on how land will be used in the future and in all the areas covered by Vipingo," Governor Mung'aro stated.
However, Mung'aro maintained that the County of Kilifi was at an advanced stage of drafting a memorandum of understanding with the investors to promote community empowerment.
The governor wants foreign investors to support residents by setting up hospitals and schools as well as creating employment.
In 2018, Centum, an investment company, announced plans to build a Ksh100 billion industrial park in Kilifi County.
Dubbed Vipingo Investment Park, the project was touted to offer interested investors 1,150 acres of serviced plots for manufacturing, warehousing, logistics and commercial developments.
