A Chinese contractor developing Kenya’s National Social Security Fund (NSSF) project Hazina Tower, is now demanding a whooping Ksh6.9 billion as compensation for the stalled project, Members of Parliament have discovered.
Jiang Xi International, a locally incorporated international construction firm says it has incurred losses due to the stalled building.
But NSSF has rejected the claim with a consultant recommending that the Chinese contractors be paid Sh20 million per week as compensation for the additional 94 weeks they have been on the site, translating to Sh1.8 billion.
The breakdown of the compensation includes Sh8.7 million for expenses, Sh9.8 million for idle plant and equipment at the site and Sh1.7 million for other losses.
Extension of Hazina Towers began in June 2013, and was to take 155 weeks with an expected completion date of July 2016. However, construction process encountered several challenges including court injunctions.
In 2014, a high court temporarily stopped construction of the project after Local retailer Nakumatt moved to court complaining that the project had kept away its customers over safety and health fears.
Initially planned for 39 floors, Hazina Tower was scaled down to 15 floors owing to structural weaknesses that cannot support the initial planned of 180 metres.
Had construction of the building continued and completed as initially planned, Hazina Tower would have been the tallest in Kenya and third in Africa after the Carlton Centre in South Africa and Cairo Tower in Egypt.
The design of the project was to mimic a Maasai moran standing with his legs crossed and leaning on a spear.