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New Prices for Malili Land
After publishing the story on the rush for land in Malili, a large investor called me to say that he had just bought a large track of land at the site of the proposed technology city at a cost of Shs 300,000 (about $ 4,285) an acre.
I had reported that the government had bout land for the 5,000 Malili e-City at Shs 200,000 (about $2,857) an acre. Before the rush, the cost of an acre was about Shs 40,000 (about $571). That is a great jump since the government made public its intention to put the technology city at Malili late last year.
Of course, no one knows how exactly the demand for land will shape up when the city is put up. A similar craze overtook investors when it was announced that the government would put up the Export Processing Zone ( EPZ) at Athi River. Like in the case of the Malili e-City, the initial impression was that the EPZ would be self-contained, with workers and investors living at the EPZ. They would, if this was the case, need a variety of goods and services such as residential houses, schools and recreation facilities.
One well-known politician -cum- tycoon went around the area buying any land he could find at any price the owners asked for. Unfortunately, the EPZ, in reality is a much tinier thing with almost everyone living in Nairobi except for the very junior workers who are accommodated at the low- end Mlolongo Estate.
In the case of Malili e-City, there are many indications that this would not be so, but you can never be so sure. The natural movement of Nairobi City is towards the east, and therefore towards Malili. The Mavoko Municipality, otherwise known as Athi River, is nearly choking with residential houses. Coincidentally Athi River is also the home of almost all the cement manufacturing companies and building stone quarries. The availability is these essential building inputs, no doubt, is a major incentive for investors looking for homes.
Because it lies in the same zone, Malili is likely to benefit from this natural drift away from the centre of Nairobi City.
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