Chinese manufacturing and supplies firm, Zhende Medical Limited, has announced plans to construct a medical supplies factory in Kenya, at Tatu City. The approximately $70 mn development project will be developed in partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), which is the primary financier. Additionally, the project will be developed in two phases with the specifics outlined below:

Source: IFC, Business Daily

“Based on current plans, Zhende expects to start construction on this site from June 2023 and complete it by December 2023. The plant will start production from January 2024 and employ 700+ employees upon launch with 80 percent being female,” said IFC.

“For phase II, the site is yet to be selected and Zhende is assessing several options. Once the site is selected, the construction for Phase II is proposed to start by November 2023 and finish by October 2024. The plant is expected to start production in November 2024 and employ 3,000 workers’’

Kenya’s Real Estate market has been evolving into an economic and consumer driven market, besides the traditional demographic driven market. This has led to the emergence and growing popularity of previously unconventional markets such as the healthcare facilities, warehouses, and data centers among others. 

In the health care sector, gradual developments and several expansion strategies have been witnessed in the market, further boosting the uptake and performance of the property market. Various hospitals have opened outlets in commercial office and retail buildings, which in turn have boosted occupancy rates in the developments, given that the majority occupy sizable floor spaces. Notable examples include but not limited to;

• The Nairobi Hospital at Galleria Shopping Mall, and Rosslyn Riviera Mall, among others. 
• Meridian Medical Center at Landmark Plaza, and Nation Centre Building among others. 
• The Karen Hospital at Cardinal Otunga Plaza, Geomark Plaza, and Luxor Plaza among others.
• Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) at Doctor’s Plaza.

Barely two months ago, GRIT Real Real Estate Income Group announced plans to construct a hospital along Nairobi’s Ngong’ Road area, with the project expected to commence in Q3 ‘2023. In October 2022, IFC’s Africa Medical Equipment Facility launched in Kenya, partnered with bioMérieux, a laboratory diagnostic equipment provider headquartered in France, in an aim to build a stronger and more resilient health system across Africa. 

These and many other examples have proven to directly boost Kenya’s Real Estate sector growth, with some of the factors driving the expansion spree being; i) the need to reach a larger number of the population, ii) an increasing demand for adequate medical equipment and services, and, iii) the need to scale up faster response to public health emergencies.

 

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