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Two Rivers Mall, Nairobi

The facility opened its doors to the public on February 14, 2017.

Updated

Two Rivers Mall water fountain.
Two Rivers Mall’s water fountain. PHOTO | COURTESY

Located on Limuru Road in Ruaka, Nairobi, the 65,000sq m Two Rivers Mall is officially the largest shopping centre in East Africa, having overthrown Garden City Mall ( 50,000sq m) on Thika Road from the prestigious position of the region’s largest mall.

The mall is part of a Sh25.1 billion mixed-use project undertaken by Two Rivers Lifestyle Company on 102 acres of land acquired from the Koinange family at a cost of Sh1 billion.

Two Rivers Mall was originally to cover a total of 1.2 million square feet of land but this was increased to 1.7 million square feet in a bid to raise the lettable space from the original 460,000 square feet to over 700,000 square feet.

The facility, which opened its doors in 2017, was initially set to open in October 2015 but the date was pushed to March 2016 then to September  of the same year and later to the Valentine’s Day of 2017 due to what the developer termed as “construction delays”.

Who owns Two Rivers Mall?

The mall’s owner, Two Rivers Lifestyle Company Ltd., comprises a coalition of several cash-rich investment firms including Centum Group.

The company’s shareholding is split into two parts; with Two Rivers Development Limited holding a 50 per cent stake and the balance being held by OMP Africa Investment Company.

On its part, Two Rivers Development Limited is owned by three investors: Centum Group (58 per cent); Avic (39 per cent) and ICDC (3 per cent).

RELATED: 10 Beautiful photos of the Two Rivers Mall

In April 2015, Centum announced that Aviation Industry Corporation of China (Avic), the main contractor for project, had invested Sh6.4 billion in Two Rivers for a 38.9 per cent stake – valuing the project at about Sh16.6 billion.

Centum also disclosed that state-owned investment firm ICDC, which also holds a 23 per cent stake in Centum, had made a Sh462.5 million equity investment while Co-operative Bank had contributed Sh7.2 billion in debt funding for the project.

Two Rivers Mall Development

The Two Rivers Mall consists of medium density residential homes, office blocks, a shopping centre, as well as a three-star and a five-star hotel, the flagship being 170-room City Lodge.

French retailer Carrefour, which operates more than 12,000 outlets globally, is the anchor tenant at the Two Rivers Mall – with Turkish luxury fashion line LC Wakiki, Woolsworths, Hugo Boss and Nike being some of the mall’s tenants.

The project, which is managed by Athena Properties Ltd., is compliant with international green standards, featuring luxurious residential apartments and low-rise office blocks that are being built by the China’s CATIC and local sub-contractors.

Two Rivers Mall Playground

Two Rivers offers a wide range of family fun activities including a dancing fountain, funscape themepark, and a fascinating skate park.

On February 28, 2019, Two Rivers Mall unveiled Africa’s tallest Ferris Wheel that offers riders incredible panoramic views of Nairobi.

The Two Rivers Mall Ferris Wheel.
The Two Rivers Mall Ferris Wheel. PHOTO | COURTESY

Dubbed ‘Eye of Kenya’, the 60-metre tall amusement park-style attraction, held together by its crisscrossing steel beams, opened on Feb 28, 2019.

Quick facts:

Location: Ruaka, Limuru Road, Nairobi.
Opening date: February 14, 2017.
Owner: Two Rivers Lifestyle Company Ltd.
Management: Athena Properties Ltd.
Main Contractor: Aviation Industry Corporation of China (Avic).
Website: tworivers.co.ke

John Nduire is an experienced journalist with a degree in Communications from Daystar University. His reporting is informed by a wealth of knowledge gained from years of covering construction news.