Safaricom Investment Co-op (SIC) invests Sh759 million on building low-cost houses in Ruaka, Kiambu County
In an attempt to address the issue of the current housing shortage, Safaricom Investment Co-operative (SIC) has held a groundbreaking ceremony for The Miran Residence, a residential development in Ruaka.
The chief executive of SIC, Sarah Wahogo noted that Miran, which is located in Ruaka (on Western end of the Nairobi Bypass), Kiambu county, is a three-acre development that consists of studio apartments currently selling at Sh3.2mn, studio lofts (Sh4.3mn), one-bedroom (Sh5mn) and two-bedroom (Sh6.5mn) apartments.
“The architectural design promotes a healthy lifestyle with the green space allocation within the development to cater for social functions, meditation and play areas, jogging track and sports courtyards that can be used for basketball, tennis or football,” said Wahogo.
The CEO noted that the construction of the 450 low-cost units, which started in September this year, will be “delivered within 18 months”, and is an exceptional investment not only because of the amenities and the location, but also a major transformation for Ruaka area.
“We also understand the needs of the markets such that a one-bedroom user may not have the same needs as that of the family in the 3 bedrooms. As a result, we have different living arrangements with the isolation of single living units from the family ones,” said Ms wahogo, adding that investors should expect rental yield of between 7% to 8%.
The development will consist of units with spacious rooms, large windows, laundry yards provided in each unit, adequate storage space for comfortable living and privacy of rooms to separate living room and the bedrooms, and use of low maintenance cladding materials for the exterior finishing of the apartments in addition to the common amenities such as adequate parking space, waste disposal pockets in each block to keep estate clean, high-speed lifts, reliable water supply, among others.
According to the director, housing, Kiambu County Julius Mwololo, you can’t go wrong when it comes to investing in real estate. Speaking during the groundbreaking ceremony, he said SIC is “truly contributing” to the economic development of Kiambu County especially in terms of land buying and housing.
“I have looked at your plan and what you are giving the public is actually affordable,” he explained, said Mr Mwololo. “We are very proud to witness the ground breaking of this development, an affordable housing project. We will work closely with the Co-operative to support the infrastructural developments needed to boost the value of real estate in Ruaka and Kiambu county as a whole.”
