Construction & Real Estate

Following on from decades of positive gains, Kenya’s construction sector continues to see robust growth and remains a central component of the country’s immediate and longer-term economic growth agenda. The industry’s GDP contribution in 2014 totalled KSh259.6bn ($2.86bn), up 13.1% on 2013. This growth pushed the construction sector’s share of the economy up by a third of a percentage point to reach 4.8% of GDP. The construction industry’s substantial jump in 2014 made it the best-performing sector that year, owing primarily to an injection of funds for major road works, railway projects and road rehabilitation. Commercial credit extended to the construction sector rose from KSh70.8bn ($778.8m) in 2013 to KSh80.4bn ($884.4m) in 2014, an increase of 13.6%. Similarly, the value of approved building plans in the private sector rose by 7.8%, from KSh190.6bn ($2.1bn) in 2013 to KSh205bn ($2.26bn) in 2014.

This chapter contains an interview with Michael Turner, Managing Director, East Africa, Actis.