Konza city – Africa’s Silicon Savannah.
Konza city – Africa’s Silicon Savannah.
A smart city, that’s meant to help Kenya build a digitally resilient nation.
Facts about Konza city
- Approximate size: 5,000 Acres
- Phase 1 – 410 acres
- 99 years leasehold period for land parcels
- KAIST (Kenya Advanced Institute of Science and Technology ) – a postgraduate-only public university is under construction, set to be complete by 2021 and enroll its first class in 2022.
What’s already done
- The National Data Center Phase 1 is complete and operational; serving both the government agencies and private sector.
- Horizontal infrastructure which entails roads, boulevards, parks, drainage system, water piping, electricity, internet connection etc, is at an advanced complete stage.
- Konza Complex building, that houses the city’s authority offices also complete.
The government of Kenya through the ministry of Transport & Infrastructure and the Ministry of ICT have so far invested KShs. 100 Billion with a huge chunk being pumped into the horizontal infrastructure.
The ICT CS Joe Mucheru, on his inspection tour of the city project on September 2020, shared that “different partners are already setting up vertical infrastructure, including universities, hospitals and accommodation facilities”
Furthermore, he commented on the government’s plan towards completing the horizontal infrastructure around the city’s complex by the year 2022.
Green Urban Set up
By avoiding superblocks and auto-orientated roadways, Konza city is developing a sustainable urban environment that’s high-density walkable. The entire technopolis city is set to have biking, and transit-friendly city
Additionally, the Konza Masterplan incorporates setting up of a series of neighborhood parks that are connected to its multimodal boulevards, public transit corridor and 60-meter parkscape as well.
There are future plans to incorporate a commuter rail service from the city to Nairobi, Kenya’s capital city.
The master plan follows a “stitch” framework, composed of a mixed use “bar” that runs east- west off Mombasa Highway and is intersected by a series of program “bands” that run north- south. These bands include a university, residential, science and tech, and an office band. The intersection of the bars and the bands create vivid connections, where special programs and higher density occur. These intersections become points of interest that seed neighborhoods of distinct character.
To learn more about Konza: visit the website: www.konza.go.ke
Video: Konza City Masterplan
Media Courtesy Konza Tech website
