The race to put up Watamu’s proposed supper structure and Africa’s tallest building has gained important milestones after receiving important regulatory certification from the County government of Kilifi and KCAA. The owners are now awaiting NEMA approvals to proceed with work on the 61-story Palm Exotjca project.
The overseers of the project obtained the certifications after presenting feasibility studies to address some of the issues raised by local stakeholders concerning the environment, water and waste management and infrastructural provisions given the scale of the project.
“The emission of light sources has been studied with a view to not affecting the surrounding environment”- explained the Kenyan engineer of the Palm Exotjica team- “and even the glass of the building will not reflect light outside of it, it is for electricity emission. The current Watamu Power & Lightning plant will be upgraded at our expense and we will not need to build one specifically for the building”.
The mega-project named ‘Palm Exotjca’ for resembling the shape of a palm trunk in structure was conceived by Italian Giuseppe Moscarino. “Everything will be done with a view to sustainability and respect for Watamu” Moscarino said to local stakeholders and residents of the Turtle Bay area who will be neighbors of Palm Exotjca during a briefing.
“We are thinking of everything, we want to be an added value for Watamu, a place I have been visiting for 11 years and I love this place. This place deserves worldwide visibility, top class customers and sustainable development that creates work, professionalism and growth for the whole country,” Moscarino is quoted as saying.
According to available information, the building will also incorporate an underground water tank capacity of 3 million litres, and a seven-story car pack capable of carrying 500 vehicles. The development which will cover 20,000 sqm, will take 4-5 years to complete with groundbreaking scheduled for December 2018.
Thai based international hotel chain Dusit Thani is said to have its eyes on the imposing structure which will have 250 hotel suites, even though other international hotel brands and financial institutions are also said to be interested.
However, despite all the positive sentiment by the majority and the efforts by backers of the project to prove their case, skeptics still think it too much for little Watamu.
This makes more economic sense compared to the skyscrapers coming up in Westlands which are 40 percent occupied.