Nairobi, Kenya – Alpha Group has unveiled a world-class integrated logistics facility in Nairobi, Alpha Business Park, in a new wave of industrial property development targeted at tapping into the scarcity of high-quality warehousing space in the city.
The newly-built Grade A facility is strategically located on the Eastern By-pass, 11 kilometres from the JKIA cargo terminal and 11.1km from Thika Road. The development comprises of five sections, each with office space on three floors, specialised warehouses, spacious lay-down area and a large cold-storage facility. Construction of the ultra-modern logistics base began in 2014.
Alpha Business Park has a 360-metre frontage on the Eastern By-pass and public access road to the rear, ensuring ease of entry and exit for all vehicles. The purpose-built development is set on approximately 83,000 square metres and is ideal for firms in engineering, oil and gas, small manufacturing, pharmaceutical storage and logistics.
Karan Yadav, Group Commercial Manager at Alpha Group, said: “This is a very specialised facility which complies with global standards suitable for gauged (containerised) and out-of-gauge cargo. When we decided to build Alpha Business Park, the oil and gas industry was just warming up and many companies were looking for bases between Mombasa and Nairobi. What we have since built is an integrated logistics base suitable for mixed-tenancy.”
A typical warehouse at Alpha Business Park is 1,440 sq m in size, with covered storage of a 10-metre hook height and 2,550 sq m of lay-down area (open yard). The specialised warehouse floor also has a five-tonne/sq m load capacity.
The development has a 500KVA back-up generator, oil and water separator, sewage treatment plant, incinerator, security and access control, adequate parking and loading space, as well as a borehole. Alpha Business Park offers a large truck-turning radius and a load-bearing capacity designed for 10-tonne gantry cranes.
“Currently there are no other facilities around Nairobi that offer these features and which are ready for immediate occupation,” Yadav said.
According to Knight Frank’s Logistics Africa 2016 report, Nairobi lacks an adequate supply of high-quality warehousing space of the kind found in Southern Africa and Eastern Europe. Occupiers of prime warehouses require properties built to high technical specifications that support modern retailing, distribution and manufacturing practices, the report noted.
Previously, some occupiers have had to build their own specialised facilities. Ben Woodhams, Managing Director at Knight Frank Kenya, said: “For a long time, there has been little speculative investment in Grade A logistics bases. We are now seeing a new wave of development as developers take advantage of new infrastructure around Nairobi such as the Eastern and Northern by-passes.”
