Kenya’s Kiambu Mall will now open its doors to the public in December contrary to plans to open it in August, its developer has announced.
Business Daily reported Monday that the move to push the opening date of the KSh800 million shopping mall has been occasioned by construction delays.
Political uncertainty in Kenya has been blamed for the delay.
“Political uncertainty in the country has slowed down shipment of construction materials so we have decided to push the opening date forward,”said Mugaa Investment Developers chairman Peter Burugu.
“This mall is a first for Kiambu County and has set standards for future developers coming here. Our idea is to give an alternative to clients that travel to Nairobi to do shopping,” said Mr Burugu.
Construction work on Kiambu mall is in top gear with developers targeting to open it before Christmas.
Read:South Africa’s Mall of Africa scoops engineering award
Botswana retailer Choppies will be the mall’s anchor tenant, making it the first major supermarket to open a store in Kiambu.
Other tenants include Java, Nairobi Hospital, Ashleys, Vivo, and Commercial Bank of Africa. The mall’s first three floors will be taken up by shops while the top most is reserved for offices.
Construction of shopping malls in Kenya is booming in the wake of increasing middle class in the country. But observers fear that over-development of malls is looming.
Recently, diversified financial provider Britam announced that it was building a Ksh12 billion mall in Nairobi upmarket area of Kileleshwa.
It came in the wake of the grand opening of the largest mall in East and Central Africa-Two Rivers.
Recently constructed malls in Kenya include Garden City and The Hub Karen.
I USD is equivalent to 103 Kenya shillings.