President Uhuru Kenyatta commissioned construction of the 50-storey G47 Ugatuzi Tower at Hurlingham in Nairobi County which will host the Ministry of Devolution headquarters and Council of Governors Secretariat.
The building, which is estimated to be the next tallest in the country will be 19 floors higher than the current tallest building in Kenya, Britam Tower which stands at 31 storeys and 200.1 metres. It will feature a Devolution National Conference Centre with a capacity to hold 1,200 people.
The conference centre will have unique capabilities to host the annual national summit in a more interactive manner including the legislative arm at national and county levels, executive arm and a gallery for observers, dignitaries such as the diplomatic corps. It will have 5-star hospitality components in terms of utility and amenities to suit the high-level tenants and visitors.
Features of G47 Ugatuzi Tower
The building will include an ultra-modern devolution museum and library to be named after the head of state- Uhuru Kenyatta Devolution Museum and Library. The library will have the central repository to showcase the devolution journey. The president will be immortalised as an appreciation for his commitment to support devolution during his tenure.
The Sh 5 billion skyscraper will be constructed from a partnership between the Council of Governors and the County Pension Fund (CPF). Deputy President William Ruto who was among the attendees of the ceremony said the construction of the G47 Ugatuzi Towers will help consolidate all state agencies in the devolution sector under one roof thereby enhancing their efficiency and efficacy.
“G47 Ugatuzi Tower will make much easier for devolution to succeed. It will provide the paradigm shift that we have all been looking for, for the bottoms up approach to our development, than the old one of trickle down,” said Mr Ruto.
“It has been our desire to enhance coordination of county government’s activities under one roof. Today marks the beginning of actualization to fulfil this desire by ground-breaking a magnificent devolution headquarters which will accommodate council of governors offices, county satellite offices, county assemblies forum offices and the ministry of devolution and its related state agencies,” said Council of Governors Chairman Wycliffe Oparanya.
