NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 14 – The value of building approvals in Nairobi rose last year by Sh57.6 billion to Sh220.1 billion, despite an increase in construction costs.
Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows that this improved from Sh162.5 billion in 2022.
Residential buildings contributed to the huge increase in value after they grew from Sh57.7 billion to Sh185.1 billion.
However, non-residential posted a slight decline from Sh35.1 billion to Sh34.97 billion.
The overall rise in the cost of approvals came at a time when prices of building materials increased from between Sh34,650 and 77,500 at the beginning of 2023 to Sh41,600 and 100,800 in December 2023.
According to a Built Environment Report by the Architectural Association of Kenya (AAK), the price of steel reinforcement bars, for instance, went up from Sh140.6 per kilogram in December 2022 to Sh160.26 per kilogram in December 2023, representing a 14.29 percent growth.
Meanwhile, 50 kg of cement also rose from Sh650 to Sh750 in the same period.
