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Two Chinese companies have won the bid to construct the 341-Kilometre Standard Gauge Railway from Mwanza to Isaka in Tanzania.

Tanzania&rsquo;s foreign minister Prof. Palamagamba Kabudi made the announcement yesterday as the country expects Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi on a two-day visit to Tanzania.

The USD $1.3 billion Mwanza-Isaka project will be undertaken by China Civil Engineering Construction (CCEC) and China Railway Construction Company (CRCC).

The project is part of the Tanzanian government&rsquo;s 2,561 Kilometre SGR network which is under construction. Tanzania Railway Corporation (TRC) is overseeing the initiative which will traverse local and regional boundaries linking Dar es Salaam, Mwanza, Kigoma, Katavi and neighbouring countries of Rwanda, Burundi Uganda and DRC.

The first phase of the USD $3 billion project, a 202-Kilometre stretch from Dar-es-Salaam to Morogoro is almost complete under the workmanship of Turkish construction company, Yapi Markez.

In October 2020 the Tanzanian government contracted a South Korean firm to supply it with trains for the Standard Gauge Railway.

Phase two of the project which will pick up from Morogoro to Makutupora in Singida is due for implementation expected to take 36 months. The project will consume another USD $1.9 billion according to <a href="https://www.thecitizen.co.tz/">The Citizen</a>.

The SGR network will be East Africa&rsquo;s fastest with speeds of up to 160 Km/Hour and it will be electric. East African countries have taken to expanding their rail networks in recent years with Kenya, Ethiopia, and Uganda already making upgrades.

Last month the Ugandan government announced a plan to increase its planned SGR network tenfold.

With more than 78,000 rooms in 408 hotels in the pipeline for Africa at the start of 2020, analysts are inclined towards the fact that this year is likely to shatter the ambitions of many hotel developers on the continent.

According to the 12th annual survey by W Hospitality Group the growth of the chains’ presence in Africa has been a very positive story since the company started its analysis in 2009.

“Our industry has been devastated by the impact of COVID-19, possibly more so than most other economic sectors, mainly because of the almost total shutdown of borders and of the aviation sector — no flights means no guests," said W Hospitality Group’s Managing Director, Trevor Ward.

With so many of the players locked down, it is expected that fewer deals will be signed, and it is inevitable that some of the planned openings in 2020 will be delayed, due to closed or slower-paced construction sites, restrictions on funding and a lack of market demand.

“According to our latest data, there are 90 hotels with 17,000 rooms scheduled to open in 2020, but we estimate that at least half of these will be delayed, bringing the actualisation rate down to no more than 40%,” he added.

2019 was a record year for the industry with 68 chain hotels opening, representing 75% of those which were scheduled to open with 11,000 rooms added.

Marriott, the world’s largest hotel chain, has the largest pipeline in Africa, with 22 per cent more hotels and 6 per cent more rooms than its main rival Accor. However Accor has been pushing up the competition, signing 25 new deals last year compared to Marriott’s 17 new projects.

If Accor is poised to overtake Marriot as the largest hotel operator on the continent if it manages to maintain its hotel opening rate at 2019 levels according to the report.

"We have to wait and see what will happen in the second half of 2020, and in 2021, as we emerge from lockdown and other restrictions.Tourism is such an important industry in Africa, because of the direct and indirect jobs that it creates and sustains, as well as its strong foreign currency earnings.We are anxious to see hotels reopen and get back to contributing to the African growth story," Trevor Ward said.

Property prices in Westlands suburb showed the strongest performance over the year according to the latest house price index from HassConsult with prices in the suburb improving by 7.9 per cent.

Over the past few years, Westlands has grown to become a melting pot for international hotel brands setting up in the area as they seek to tap into Nairobi's growing market for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) tourism. As a result, properties in the area have greatly benefited in terms of capital appreciation.

The growth of MICE tourism has had a ripple effect on apartments, detached and semi-detached housing market in the Westlands suburb as some visitors opt to stay in serviced apartments or houses located in close vicinity to the hotels where major conferences are taking place.

“The flourishing niche market for MICE tourism has opened an opportunity for entrepreneurs who are turning houses and apartments for renting to attendees of major conferences, some of whom prefer serviced apartments and houses over hotels and this is resulting in an uptick in prices,” said Hass Consult's Sakina Hassanali.

Hassanali added that the Westlands area is additionally undergoing the “rediscovery” phase of the urban regeneration cycle which is the result of high income earners moving back to neighborhoods that had previously seen an exodus of these tier of residents.

“Classically, in urban markets, areas that are initially populated by high-income earners are often, over time, developed in ways that lead to a shift in the mix of the population, with middle-income earners beginning to move into the area," she said.

Related; <a href="https://estatecloud.co.ke/nairobi-land-investors-waiting-on-government-to-roll-out-housing-policy/">Nairobi land investors waiting on Government to roll out housing policy</a>

"This can cause flight by the elite, to the next upmarket beauty spot. As the high-end residents vacate, property becomes further developed, often at higher density, and the area will see an influx of lower-income earners. This takes the cycle on a further stage, as middle-income earners also seek to relocate. Finally a younger generation of middle-income earners comes to develop this area making it get 'rediscovered',” added Hassanali.

Overall the detached housing market posted the strongest performance at 1.3 per cent over the quarter while semi-detached houses posted an 11.8 per cent over the year.

On the rental front asking rents continued to marginally rise over the quarter at 1.5 per cent and 4.7 per cent on an annual basis.Apartments led the pack on over the quarter at 3.5 per cent while semi-detached houses topped on an annual basis at 11.5 per cent.

Read; <a href="https://estatecloud.co.ke/westlands-still-trumps-karen-for-investors-money/">Westlands still trumps Karen for Investors Money</a>

Westlands properties reap benefits from MICE tourism

Residential sales prices remained stagnant in the fourth quarter of 2020 with a drop of 1.2 per cent bringing the annual rise in prices over 2020 to just 0.17 per cent.

Stagnation in price growth over the year was attributed to a fall in apartment prices that fell by 4.6 per cent on average during the past year while both detached and semi-detached houses retained positive price growth. Within the apartment segment,

Kileleshwa and Kilimani saw the biggest quarterly and annual fall in sales prices at 2.6 and 2.8 per cent for Kileleshwa and 9.9 and 8.6 per cent for Kilimani.

As at the end of 2020, Kilimani and Kileleshwa accounted for 28 per cent and 17 per cent of the sales property mix or a combined 45 per cent, effectively making them the source of nearly half of property supply in Nairobi according to HassConsult.

&#39;&#39;Against this backdrop, the loading of extra costs onto developers, as soaring land prices and sky-high finance costs, has served in shifting developers to create smaller apartments with lower price tags to allow buyers to continue to access their products at a price that works for both buyer and seller. This shift in supply has led to suburb wide apartment repricing,&#39;&#39; said Ms. Sakina Hassanali, Head of Development Consulting and Research at HassConsult.

In the rental market segment, residential rental prices grew by 1.1 per cent in the quarter, despite a fall in apartment rents of 1.24 per cent in the same period.

Again, apartments in Kilimani showed the strongest fall in quarterly rents at 4.0 per cent followed by Kileleshwa, recording price falls of 2.6 per cent over Q4. The annual corrections amounted to a fall of 9.4 per cent in Kilimani and a fall of 8.4 per cent in Kileleshwa over 2020.

&#39;&#39;While smaller apartments dominate the new build market in Kilimani and Kileleshwa and provide middle-income housing at lower ticket prices, the sheer volume of new stock created rental price vulnerability for larger and older stock during the economic slowdown caused by 2020&#39;s global pandemic, resulting in rental price corrections,&#39;&#39; said Ms. Hassanali.

A year in review of rental prices showed an uptick of 5.5 per cent in the year and was led strongly by the increasing rental prices for detached houses &ndash; up 7.3 per cent in 2020, with Karen and Muthaiga particularly showcasing high-end market resilience to economic slowdowns.&nbsp;

Kileleshwa and Kilimani now Hold 45 Percent of Nairobi's Apartments for Sale

COVID-19 could ruin record year for Africa's hotel developers

By FRANCIS MULI 

Land buying follows the basic principles of law of contract. The seller is supposed to disclose any defects on the title, e.g. if it’s being used as a security against a bank loan. Land buying requires that all legal and contractual procedures are followed to avoid future conflicts, which may lead to double loss. Before investing your money on any piece of land, follow the following steps:
<ul>
 	<li>Search at Ministry of Lands</li>
</ul>
Search with Ministry of Lands at district or county headquarters to ascertain the true land owners and establish the presence of brokers and if the title has been charged or has a caveat, for instance, when it has been used to secure a loan, or there is a court order barring any transaction on the land.

A search costs Ksh520 and should be ready within two hours. A valid search should be no more than six months old.
<ul>
 	<li>Land rates</li>
</ul>
Visit the Local Council (municipal or county) to confirm any unpaid land rates which you will need to factor in when deciding the purchase price. Cost varies from county to county. In Nairobi, you will be required to have a certificate of clearance from the Nairobi City County, which costs Ksh7,500 and should be ready normally within two hours.

If there are prevailing unpaid land rates you would need to agree with the seller on who will settle them as the land cannot be sold (transferred) with outstanding land rates.
<ul>
 	<li>Land Map</li>
</ul>
Visit the local surveyor and purchase maps of the place, normally two, one drawn to scale (informally known as tracing or mutation) and another showing the neighbouring farms, costing Ksh300 per map. You can buy these at the Lands Ministry but a surveyor is better and faster.
<ul>
 	<li>Ground Verification</li>
</ul>
Armed with the map, the surveyor and the seller visit the land on the ground. Have a tape measure to confirm the dimension from the map drawn to scale. Make sure you see the beacons or replace the lost ones. Surveyors charge about Ksh1,000 per beacon. Make sure the bordering neighbours are in agreement with the boundaries.
<ul>
 	<li>Agreement</li>
</ul>
The law requires any land transaction to be in writing. It is very advisable to have a lawyer (though not a must). According to the tariff provided by Law Society of Kenya the lawyer should charge Ksh3000 if land cost is Ksh1,000,000 and below and Ksh8,000 if land value is above Ksh1,000,000. Lawyer’s cost is normally shared equally between buyer and seller.

Ensure that the spouse to the seller is present at this stage or at least the spouse is aware and agrees with the transaction to avoid later complications.
<ul>
 	<li>Post Agreement Transaction</li>
</ul>
According to the agreement, you may pay in cash or installment. Ensure by the time you make the initial payment the title deed and other legal documents are in the custody of the lawyers. This is because the seller still owns the piece of land and may involve other transactions using the title deed, which may harm you financially.
<ul>
 	<li>Land Control Board</li>
</ul>
Book the Land Control Board (LCB) meeting. The LCB is a forum made of the Assistant County Commissioners (Previously called DOs) and the local village elders which meets once a month. They are the ones who give the final consent for the land to be sold. Their role is to protect the seller from self-destruction e.g. where a man is selling land without wife’s knowledge and they don’t have anywhere else to go or the land being sold is clan/community land. LCB costs Ksh1000.

However, there is a special Land Control Bond (SCLB), which involves only the Assistant County Commissioner and the two transacting parties instead of waiting for the main LCB that meets once per month. SCLB costs Ksh5,000 and may take two hours depending with availability of the Assistant County Commissioner.
<ul>
 	<li>Land Transfer</li>
</ul>
After all payments, the seller signs Land Transfer Forms which together with Consent from LCB, land search, clearance from county/ municipal council, passport photos, KRA PIN, agreement and old title deed are taken to the Ministry of Lands to change ownership. It costs Ksh5,000 to process new title which should be ready within two weeks.
<ul>
 	<li>Stamp Duty and Transfer Fees</li>
</ul>
You will need to pay stamp duty based on the value of land, i.e four per cent for municipalities and two percent for reserve.
<ul>
 	<li>Post Purchase Activity</li>
</ul>
After one week, the buyer should do another search with the Ministry of Lands to confirm that the land now reads his/her details.

That's how to go about buying land in Kenya.

READ; <a title="Rentals Still Reign, Hass Property Index" href="https://estatecloud.co.ke/rentals-still-reign-hass-property-index/" rel="bookmark">Rentals Still Reign, Hass Property Index</a>

Source; <a href="https://businesstoday.co.ke" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Business Today </a>

Officials in Kampala have revealed plans to expand the Uganda SGR project to a 2,700-kilometre standard gauge railway network following uncertainties with Kenya&rsquo;s Naivasha-Malaba SGR extension.

Uganda&#39;s SGR project which will see the country increase its initial SGR coverage increased nearly ten times, will include connections to its Northern, Eastern, Western and Southern neighbours.

The country had initially planned a 271-kilometre SGR line as part of the Nothern Corridor Project linking Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. However political upheavals and financial uncertainties have hindered the project.

Kampala plans to begin the project in the 2022/2023 fiscal year even if Kenya fails to extend its SGR line to Malaba, officials told the <a href="https://www.thecitizen.co.tz/tanzania/news/international/uganda-plans-to-go-it-alone-and-build-2-700km-long-standard-gauge-railway-3236290" style="color: #ff9900;">Citizen</a>. Uganda is optimistic about closing a funding deal with the China Exim bank in the coming months to secure the project.

Uganda SGR project coordinator, Perez Wamburu, told a section of Ugandan media that the viability of the line under different scenarios remains positive and that a Chinese company will operate the network for the duration of the loan repayment period before handing over the assets to Uganda.

The Uganda SGR link to Kenya&#39;s SGR was thrown off-balance when Kenyan Authorities cut its SGR construction procession at Naivasha, opting instead to refurbish the old line.

Kampala has been assessing the viability of its SGR line if there is to be no direct linkage with the Kenyan line. However, Mr Wamburu said a direct interface with the Kenyan SGR would be the better option, even though all scenarios would generate positive rates of return with varying margins.

One scenario under consideration is for the project to include a hanging line from Kampala to Malaba, with the hope that Kenya will resolve its issues and extend the line to Malaba.

&ldquo;We shall be sitting with Kenya and China Exim to bring clarity to issues of the interconnection but everybody is still committed to this project,&rdquo; Mr. Wamburu said.

At least 120km of the 271km Uganda SGR corridor has been secured with 4,800 projected affected persons compensated so far as preconstruction activities continue.

Estate Cloud

Estate Cloud

Tanzania to Construct 341-Kilometre SGR from Mwanza to Isaka

By Estate Cloud - over 2 years ago - Tanzania

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