Jabavu Village and White Lotus Projects recently broke ground for the construction of a 45-floor Hilton in Nairobi’s Upper Hill region. The 255-guest room and suite hotel is set to open in 2020 and joins 50 Hilton Hotels & Resorts properties trading or under development in 17 countries across Africa.

When completed, it will consist of an Executive Lounge and five food and beverage outlets, including a poolside bar, specialty smokehouse and grill restaurant, lobby dining area with landscaped deck and a boutique rooftop bar with vista views of the Nairobi skyline on the 43rd level.

Mr Mahat Noor, Project Director of Jabavu Village, the real estate investment arm of the Hass Petroleum Group, said:

“Hilton Nairobi Upper Hill is our first project with Hilton and we are tremendously excited to be collaborating with them on this spectacular development. Hilton Nairobi Upper Hill and the larger mixed-use development, which will include a residential, retail and entertainment complex, as well as an adjacent office tower, will be Africa’s tallest building, standing at 330m.”

Akin to other hotel groups such as Carlson Rezidor and Marriott who are moving forward with aggressive African expansion plans, Hilton is planning on doubling its presence in Africa in the next three to five years. They are focused on further development prospects all over the continent, entering new countries but also growing in areas with an existing Hilton presence.

Upper Hill, where this new hotel will be located, is a major commercial region in Nairobi with strong activity in the office and hospitality sector. The region accounts for approximately 26% of Nairobi’s commercial office stock and is home to the World Bank, IFC, Coca-Cola as well as most of the country’s largest insurers. The hospitality sector in this region is also growing with brands such as Crowne Plaza and Radisson Blu.

According to local Kenyan media, the project will cost $200 million (Sh20.6 billion) and the target market will be the middle and high-end luxury hospitality market.

Hilton Nairobi Upper Hill joins one other Hilton Worldwide hotel under development in Kenya, the Hilton Garden Inn Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. It will be situated just 2km from the capital’s airport and is set to open in 2017/2018.