Nairobi to spend Sh100m in giving City Hall a facelift

Nairobi is set to spend more than Sh100 million on the renovation of City Hall.

The facelift project will entail refurbishment of offices, repainting and re-roofing, creation of two modern receptions as well as rehabilitation of washrooms at the facility.

The repainting of the old City Hall and repair of offices, the county government has said, is aimed at providing and maintaining quality physical infrastructure for improved work environment and customer care.

City Hall, especially City Hall Annex, has been synonymous with failing lifts forcing those seeking services at the various offices in the building to use the staircases — which are always dark due to frequent power blackouts — to go as high as thirteenth floor.

According to the County Annual Development Plan (CADP) for the financial year ending June 30, 2022, Sh40 million will be used in re-roofing of City Hall while another Sh15 million will be used for repainting offices in the building.

Another Sh20 million will be channeled towards provision of two modern receptions.

Refurbishment of offices will cost the county government another Sh30 million while rehabilitation of washrooms will sink in Sh10 million. The headquarters of the Nairobi County government, housing both the county executive and County Assembly, lacks proper washrooms making provision of proper sanitation a challenge.

Some of the projects such as rehabilitation of offices and corridors, as well as washroom had their contracts awarded in the previous financial year but works had not commenced by the end of the financial year.

“The two projects that had been awarded including the rehabilitation of offices and corridors, and rehabilitation of washroom but works had not started by June 30, 2020. However, these projects will now roll over to 2020/21 financial year,” said Nairobi County Finance and Economic Planning Executive Allan Igambi.

Some of the projects are set to commence this financial year while others, the majority, will be implemented in the financial year ending June 30, 2022.

The projects are under the Office of the Governor ‘which had last financial year received a capital budget allocation of Sh8 million.

City Hall was constructed in the 1950s along City Hall Way as the main offices of the Nairobi City Council. The building was later expanded in 1981 with the addition of the 13-storey City Hall Annex which now hosts most of offices for Nairobi County.