Projects

Sh30bn NSSF Twin Towers to Recast Nairobi Skyline

The taller tower is expected to become Nairobi’s tallest building.

Updated on

February 14, 2026

View of Nairobi city centre with buildings and street — A view of Nairobi city centre. (Photo: John Nduire)

The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) has unveiled plans for a Sh30 billion complex in Nairobi’s central business district, signalling a return to mega property development.

The project, to rise on 3.85 acres along Kenyatta Avenue, will feature twin towers of 35 and 60 floors. The taller block is expected to become Nairobi’s tallest building. The development will combine offices, luxury apartments, conference facilities, retail space and a hotel.

NSSF managing trustee and chief executive officer David Koross said the residential component is central to the vision of bringing people back into the CBD, which has seen major firms relocate to areas such as Westlands and Upper Hill.

“We are also considering the idea of regenerating life in the city centre, and that’s why in that design we are doing apartments, to bring people to live in the CBD. In other places in the world, people are living within city centres,” said Mr Koross.

“NSSF will be funding the project fully, over the next four years. We estimate its cost at Sh30 billion.”

The fund believes the move will align Nairobi with global cities where mixed-use developments allow residents to live, work and socialise within short distances.

Urban planners increasingly promote hybrid schemes that blend homes, co-working spaces and leisure facilities under what is known as the 15-minute city model.

The Kenyatta Avenue plot, currently used as a temporary car park, is valued at about Sh4 billion and remains one of the CBD’s largest undeveloped sites.

The prime piece of land, which has been vacant for decades, has been at the centre of various political intrigues and private sector interests over the years.

Several private companies have attempted to purchase it, but the deals have been dogged by controversy. In 2016, billionaire Indian businessman Mukesh Ambani fought in court with the taxman after a deal to purchase the land for Sh1.3 billion went sour.

Ambani had planned to build a 21-storey hotel on the plot opposite Nairobi’s Laico Regency Hotel but withdrew after it was revealed that the land size was smaller than indicated in the title deed. Ambani later shifted his plans to Westlands, where he developed Delta House.

Earlier, various parties, including the Kenya Tourist Development Corporation and Holiday Inn, expressed interest in the site during the administrations of Jomo Kenyatta and Daniel Arap Moi.