County government of Nakuru has announced plans to adopt new regulations to promote construction of green buildings within the town’s central business district to boost sustainability in the construction industry.
Governor Lee Kinyanjui made the announcement and said that the move mirrors Singapore’s highly successful green building initiative, Nakuru is seeking to make it mandatory for builders to comply with green construction rules as the town gears up for city status.
The governor who spoke during the ground-breaking of a Sh 900million building that will host county government offices, said green buildings are ideal for the county as they save water and electricity resources in daily operations of their occupants.
Sustainable construction designs
Governor Lee Kinyanjui, noted that the county will develop policies and regulatory frameworks to compel investors putting up commercial buildings in the town to adopt sustainable construction designs. The County signed a partnership with the Kenya Green Building Society (KGBS) in January 2020 which would see buildings in the city built with internationally acclaimed standards of construction and designs.
“The building will be compliant to the needs of persons with disabilities and has factored in the provision of water harvesting, and lighting to reduce costs incurred in electricity and water bills,” said Governor Kinyanjui.
The Sh 900million project involves construction of a 7-storey building featuring among other things, solar panels on roof spaces and automated low-energy illuminating work spaces. It is expected to be completed in 24 months and the property developers will be required to comply with the sustainable building regulations and must install water harvesting systems, green energy systems, light sensors, energy-saving elevators and escalators, and energy efficient air-conditioning units.
Garden City
Prospective owners of commercial buildings will also be required to include basement parking in their designs to help ease traffic congestion in the fast-growing central business district.
“We have partnered with UN Habitat in a move to implement planning in our towns to make Nakuru a model city globally, I signed an MOU that will guide infrastructure development, waste management and creation of inclusive cities among other factors,” said Mr Kinyanjui.
Singapore, which calls itself the Garden City, is the only country that has made it mandatory for buildings of 5,000 square metres and above to achieve minimum standards for environmental sustainability. Since 2005, the island country and city has greened more than 40% of its buildings by floor area as of December 2020, and is on track to achieving its 80% target by 2030.
