Iran has shown interest to partner with Kenyan real estate developer Urithi Housing Cooperative Society to construct cheap houses using cheaper but good quality building material.
Iranian ambassador to Kenya Dr Hadi Farajvand said Iran had amassed considerable experience in building cheap houses for low-income segment of the economy. “We will be sharing it with Kenya to ensure they reduce the cost of construction of houses,” he said.
The envoy said that the Iranian government had built 1.8 million cheap houses for its low-income population and 300, 000 more were under construction.
“We produce every component of the housing project where hundreds of companies are engaged in fast construction and production of cheap and light material while still maintaining quality,” he said.
The Iranian ambassador said that his country will be transferring their technology, expertise and experience to Kenya in a bid to reduce cost of house construction in Kenya.
Urithi chairman Samuel Maina said they aim at offering affordable housing solutions to Kenyans at large by using modern technology, which is cheap and fast to implement and is available in Iran.
“We want to provide affordable housing solutions through purchase of cheap construction materials and home appliances from Iran,” said Maina. “We will be negotiating for better prices for our clients to ensure we have quality and variety more than what we have in the local market,” he added.
Urithi plans to put up 1, 000 units using the Iranian materials. Maina said the development will spur uptake of houses for the low-income earners in the economy thus addressing the housing shortage in the country.
A recent World Bank report on Kenya suggests that the country should put up more than two million affordable houses every year to meet an increasing demand of estimated 500,000 new city dwellers annually. The Kenya Economic Update also shows the country should make housing more affordable for Kenyans by improving access to finance.