The Tanzanian government is building a 22-floor two-tower complex in Upper Hill Nairobi to house its Kenyan embassy, residences, and office rental units.
Tanzania’s National Social Security Fund (NSSF) is investing in the project to earn foreign currency while saving government rental expenses for chancery and embassy staff housing.
Speaking during the project's groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday, Tanzania’s Foreign Affairs Minister, January Makamba, said they will use professional and world-class real estate entities to develop these assets, which will generate income for the government and improve the quality of its embassies and embassy staff housing.
“The Nairobi project is part of the first phase of Tanzania’s long-term plan, which will also see it erect similar properties in Kigali, Rwanda; Kinshasa in the DR Congo; London in the U.K.; New York in the U.S.; and Zambia’s capital, Lusaka,” he said.
On the other hand, Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary (CS) Musalia Mudavadi termed the scheme a significant step in reinforcing Kenya’s diplomatic relations with its southern neighbor.
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“As a government, we will work with all the planning agencies to give you support to avoid any bureaucracies that can delay the process," Mudavadi said.
Located just 4 kilometers from Nairobi's city center, Upper Hill is a commercial district that has seen increased construction in recent years, especially of skyscrapers.
Later today in Nairobi, we will be launching the construction of Twin Towers (22 floors each) buildings, a real estate investment by NSSF and Tanzania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Upper Hill, the center of Nairobi, that will also house our embassy. We are honoured to be… pic.twitter.com/GQe6qRw8WX
— January Makamba (@JMakamba) June 18, 2024
It is home to luxury chained-brand hotels such as Sarova Panafric and Radisson Blu; foreign embassies like the British High Commission; and hosts regional headquarters of multinationals and organizations such as Huawei, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The Tanzanian High Commission in Nairobi is currently hosted at Reinsurance Plaza in the capital’s central business district.
According to Tanzania’s foreign ministry, the country spends about Kes 1.4 billion a year to rent embassy offices and housing for embassy staff.
