The State Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced plans to lease office spaces for ministries, departments and government agencies in five posh estates within Nairobi.
In a notice dated Tuesday, February 20, it was noted that the State Department was looking to have the offices hosted in Westlands, Upperhill, Hurlingham, Kilimani and areas around Milimani Law Courts.
The Central Business District (CBD) was also listed among the preferred areas to host the offices.
Therefore, landlords within the five estates were urged to submit their bids for the leasing plan, with March 9 set as the closing date for the bidding process.
"The State Department hereby invites eligible property owners or their authorized agents for the leasing of office space in Westlands, the Central Business District (CBD), Community/Upper Hill, Hurlingham, Kilimani and Milimani areas to express their interest in providing office space.
"Interested bidders may access the tender documents from the State Department’s website www.housingandurban.go.ke. Bidders who download the tender documents from the website are required to provide their details by registering at the Office of Head, Supply Chain Management Services, located on the 6th floor of Ardhi House, 1st Ngong Avenue, during normal working hours," read the notice in part.
Currently, most government offices are based in the CBD and the Milimani Law Courts area.
Notably, the five posh estates listed by the State Department are highly sought after even by international organisations and diplomatic institutions.
For instance, a report published by Knight Frank on Kenya's market industry between July and December 2023 revealed that Westlands is the most attractive estate for office spaces in Kenya.
This was attributed to the high-end office spaces that have been set up in the area over the last few years.
"Westlands - known for its dominance in A-grade office space in Kenya, solidified its reputation as the premier office hub by welcoming new flexible workspaces branches such as Regus, Spaces, and Ikigai," the real estate company highlighted in its bi-annual report.
The cost of leasing the apartments is yet to be revealed. However, in some of the areas, the government may be faced with rental pricing charged in dollars.
"Due to the persistent loss of purchasing power of the Kenyan shilling against the USD, landlords face losses when collecting rent in Ksh while servicing dollar-denominated loans. In response to this exchange rate challenge, landlords have increasingly favoured collecting rent in dollars, a trend expected to continue in the long term," KnightFrank highlighted in its report.
