New Contractor Moves on Site to Finish Stalled South B Tech Hub

The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) has awarded a KES 2.66 billion contract to Kingsley Construction Company to complete the stalled technology hub in South B, Nairobi. This development comes after the project, originally conceived in 2013, faced over a decade of delays and budget overruns.

Fresh procurement disclosures indicate that the total cost of the project has climbed to KES 8.56 billion. This represents a 57% increase from the initial budget of KES 5.9 billion. The state has injected KES 3.4 billion in additional funding to revive the site, which has stood as a half-finished structure for years.

The original contractor abandoned the South B site in 2022. That departure followed a prolonged period of inactivity attributed to unpaid bills and financing constraints. By early 2024, Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu confirmed that at least KES 5 billion had already been spent on the incomplete complex without achieving the intended utility.

The new agreement requires Kingsley Construction Company to hand over the finished facility by February 2028. The design of the hub includes specialized laboratories, lecture halls, and an amphitheatre. It also features showrooms and office spaces intended to house scientific and engineering talent.

President Ruto has previously emphasized the completion of stalled infrastructure to prevent the loss of public funds. The South B project was a central pillar of the industrial modernization drive meant to support the transition to a middle-income economy. However, repeated missed deadlines, including a failed November 2022 completion target, hindered those ambitions.

The locals and potential investors have expressed concerns over the slow pace of such flagship innovation projects. Similar challenges have been observed at Konza Technopolis, where funding gaps and contractor disputes have also delayed the realization of the Silicon Savannah vision.

KeNHA, acting as the implementing agency, is now tasked with supervising the final phase of construction. The agency must ensure the new contractor adheres to the revised timeline to avoid further cost escalations. The project remains a critical asset for the national digital and innovation strategy despite the historical setbacks.