The Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) has announced plans to construct over 11,000 houses for its staff. The armed force revealed the plans and said that they are exploring a public-private partnership with investors to develop the housing project.
“The Ministry of Defence is faced with a shortfall of accommodation for the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF). This is particularly the case for the non-commissioned officer cadre of the KDF. The immediate need is estimated at 11,200 residential units. Owing to funding constraints, the MoD intends to resolve the housing challenge partly through the use of the PPP project delivery model,” said the authority in a statement.
Details of the housing project
Projected to cost Sh 1billion, the project will be first-of-its-kind partnership, whereby the investors will be allowed to rent out the houses to KDF for 15 years once construction is completed to recoup their investments. The houses will then be handed over permanently to KDF in a build-operate-transfer model.
The housing project will be sited in Roysambu military base along the Nairobi-Thika highway, Nanyuki Military Base and Nakuru, Lanet Military Base. It will be implemented in phases. Phase one will see 2,340 with 500 units in Roysambu and 737 in Nanyuki developed.
In addition KDF plans to establish its own independent university. Defence CS Monica Juma, while appearing before MPs in early November 2020, requested the legislators to amend the Education Act to allow the ministry to proceed with the plan.
Juma stated that the move will cut costs for KDF who spend a lot of money certifying and accrediting specialised officers in public universities. The National Defence University of Kenya (NDU-K) will teach and certify officers from the National Intelligence Service (NIS), KDF and security personnel from other African countries.
