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Konza City featured on K24 all week this week
eboomerang
#81 Posted : Saturday, April 07, 2012 2:50:12 PM
Rank: Member

Joined: 6/27/2011
Posts: 301
Location: Nairobi
a4architect.com wrote:

Quote:


However, Information permanent secretary Bitange Ndemo said the AG's legal opinion runs parallel to the spirit of the project, arguing that the directive would slow down the ambitious project that is set to cost Sh800 Billion.

"This will be a major blow, and I would rather resign than see a project that would open up the employment opportunities locally go into the drain," said Dr Ndemo.


http://www.businessdaily...546/1302006/-/15f2fe0/-


@a4architect.com, Thanks for the links.

It's good that we have a diversity of opinions here. Those familiar with the real-estate side of things have pointed out enough gaps and raised questions concerning this project.

Others in this forum understand the ICT industry fairly well, and are saying that this is not the way to develop the ICT industry in Kenya - in other words this may not be the best approach for a country like Kenya.


I have another alternative for Dr Bitange and the team to explore. Based on that article in the Business daily, Dr Bitange indicates that their budget for this project is Ksh800 Billion.

Instead of building everything from scratch with that amount of money and yet we don't own any technology or patents, why don't you go on a shopping spree for global software companies.

With that kind of budget we can hypothetically afford to buy off a company like SAP and still have change to buy up Adobe Systems Inc. These companies have market capitalization of $80Billion and $16 Billion respectively, our budget for Konza is $96 Billion.

Once we have bought these companies, we can hand the respective CEOs a task to gradually establish branches in Kenya.

That is also an option.
a4architect.com
#82 Posted : Sunday, April 08, 2012 8:54:51 AM
Rank: Veteran

Joined: 1/4/2010
Posts: 1,668
Location: nairobi
@eboomerang..
From the information available publicly on Konza, it seems it will be modeled and actualized following the Tatu City method.

In Tatu city, the developers bought the 2000 acre coffee farm from Socfinaf.

After buying, they zoned the land in several zones such that buyers into a specific zone will have to build houses as suggested e.g buyers into an educational zone have to build schools, buyers into an industrial zone build industries e.t.c

In such a model, 99.9% of the funds are spent in buying the land.
After buying and zoning the land, individual investors like you and me can now develop and use our own sources of money to construct.

Other models such as Thika Greens are slightly different in that the developer buys land and develops houses for sale to the public. In such a model,land becomes around 15 to 30% of the cost since actual construction takes the rest of the cost.

In Konza city, 99.9% of cost i.e buying land has already been done using tax payer money of KES 1B.

Investors will look for their own private funds to construct the universities, offices e.t.c within Konza.

The KES 800m that the Worldbank/IFC financial advisory to Ministry of Finance is mentioning will have to be explained in more details.

I dont understand where this money will be spent,who will be paid and who will repay it back.

Ministry of Info should give us the 800m breakdown.

Information available publicly is that Ministry of Info has hired Worldbank/IFC for Financial Advisory services.

Wordbank/IFC has in-turn hired London based Engineers/Architects.

LOCAL FIRMS.

If Ministry of Info hired KCB,CooP bank,Housing Finance as the financial advisors instead of Worldbank/IFC, and Otieno Odongo Engineers or Wanjohi Consulting Engineers or any Kenyan firm instead of the London based Engineers for the Infrastructure Engineering master planning services, the tax payer resources would largely remain in Kenya and more Kenyans will get empowerment and job opportunities.


Unless the debt will go into financing these consultancy services or infrastructure, am yet to see other need for 800m funding.

For infrastructure e.g roads, in well-planned projects, this cost is loaded into the cost of buying land such that it self-funds itself. If someone buys an acre for example, a part of this money goes into laying infrastructure.

To enable this effectively, the project is zoned into phases such that phase 1 profits fund Phase 2 hence no need of borrowing.

Zoning the project in phases also makes it easier and more cost-effective to lay infrastructure.

Another method is to lobby Government Ministry of Roads to use tax payer money to lay the infrastructure.

For banks to finance investors, they need to do so on land that has real intrinsic value as opposed to inflated value such that if someone defaults, banks can recoup their money through forced sale. Creation of this real value is mostly achieved through input of infrastructure.
As Iron Sharpens Iron, So one Man Sharpens Another.
a4architect.com
#83 Posted : Sunday, April 08, 2012 9:48:04 AM
Rank: Veteran

Joined: 1/4/2010
Posts: 1,668
Location: nairobi
Also, there is a law within Ministry of Local Government that requires every developer who subdivides land for sale to lay infrastructure before Ministry of Lands issues a title deed.

In most urban areas, this law is disregarded or becomes a source of corruption.

In Nairobi, its virtually impossible to disregard this law.

Thats why developments in Nairobi usually have road/drainage infrastructure ready since the law forces the developers to do so to a specific standard.

Nairobi City Council can specify the standard to be murram or tarmac depending on the area. E.g Runda,Karen e.t.c is tarmac standard.

Other countries that dont have such laws in place e g Kampala do not have infrastructure growing in tandem with urban growth.

In Konza, this law will most definitely be enforced so as not to overburden Machakos county council with the financial burden of laying infrastructure.

If Ministry of Info's consultancy team of Worldbank/IFC and the London engineers can implement the infrastructure in phases, they will circumvent a very huge debt.
As Iron Sharpens Iron, So one Man Sharpens Another.
a4architect.com
#84 Posted : Sunday, April 08, 2012 10:16:39 AM
Rank: Veteran

Joined: 1/4/2010
Posts: 1,668
Location: nairobi
http://articles.timesofi...isition-nano-city-acres

Quote:
Modelled on the Silicon Valley of the US, Nano City is proposed to be developed on 11,000 acres of land at Panchkula in Haryana and will come up in phases.

Expected to be completed in 10 years, the project seeks to attract world-class companies involved in creation of intellectual property, particularly those involved in software development, nano sciences, drug discovery, bio-technology, energy research and semiconductor research. It would also boast of a university and an airport.

In the first phase, the company would develop 5,000 acres of land over 5 years and the rest would be developed in the second phase.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nano_City

Quote:
Nano City was a project proposed by the Haryana government and Sabeer Bhatia (co-founder of Hotmail) to build a city similar to Silicon Valley in northern India. The city was intended to cover 11,000 acres of land near Panchkula.[1]

The proposal to construct Nano City was formally approved by the state government of Haryana in September 2006, having first been proposed by Sabeer Bhatia. It envisaged a joint venture between the state-owned Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation and a private venture owned by Bhatia. The city was to be constructed in two phases, the first covering 5,000 acres of land and the second a further 6,000. The proposal was [2] Real estate firm Parsvnath Developers joined the project in July 2008.[1]

The city was intended to include an airport, a golf course and a rapid transit system. However, by May 2010 no progress had been made. It was reported that Bhatia had failed to submit detailed plans for its construction.[3] In July 2010 the project was cancelled by the HSIIDC.[4]


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sejong_City

Quote:
In early 2007, the Government of Republic of Korea decided to create a special administrative district housing nine ministries and four national agencies currently located in Seoul out of part of the present Chungcheongnam-do province, near Daejeon. The new district will be named Sejong Special Autonomous City (세종특별자치시, 世宗特別自治市). The plan for creation of the city arose after the failure of former President Roh Moo-hyun to relocate the national capital from Seoul to the region.[2] The prospective city was named in honor of the Joseon Dynasty King Sejong the Great, the father of Korea's national alphabet.[3] The plan envisages a city with a population of around 500,000 [4]

Plans for the city have resulted in numerous disputes in the National Assembly. In September 2009 Prime Minister Chung Un-chan opined that the plan to build Sejong as a national administrative center was "not an efficient policy when viewed from the eyes of an economist." (Chung would later further criticize Sejong City as pork barrel politics, proposed "only in consideration of garnering more votes.") [5] This led to more than a thousand senior scholars and politicians including three former prime ministers to call for a revision of the plan.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubai_Waterfront

Quote:
Major civil works and infrastructure commenced on the first phase of Madinat Al Arab. Construction of the 8.0 kilometer Palm Cove Canal, which runs parallel to the coastline, began in February 2007 and was more than 65 per cent complete before the project was suspended.

The first phase of Madinat Al Arab (30%) was unveiled to private property and investment institutions from the United Arab Emirates and Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf in July 2005. Within five days, it had been completely sold out, for over 13 billion AED.

Other key zones include Al Ras [2], Corniche [3], The Riviera [4], The Palm Boulevard [5], The Peninsula [6], Uptown, Downtown, Boulevard, and The Exchange [7].[4]

The Waterfront project stalled with the onset of the global financial crisis and Dubai World's debt crisis in 2009. Nakheel was forced to restructure over $11bn of debt and scale back many of its projects. In December 2011 Nakheel advertised for sale 13 unused construction cranes intended for use in the Waterfront project. Nakheel has announced its intention to develop the first phase of the Veneto and Badrah neighbourhoods and associated infrastructure of certain phases of the Madinat Al Arab in the near-term, while other parts of the waterfront have been suspended until demand improves.
As Iron Sharpens Iron, So one Man Sharpens Another.
eboomerang
#85 Posted : Sunday, April 08, 2012 11:22:36 AM
Rank: Member

Joined: 6/27/2011
Posts: 301
Location: Nairobi
a4architect.com wrote:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nano_City

Quote:
Nano City was a project proposed by the Haryana government and Sabeer Bhatia (co-founder of Hotmail) to build a city similar to Silicon Valley in northern India. The city was intended to cover 11,000 acres of land near Panchkula.[1]

The proposal to construct Nano City was formally approved by the state government of Haryana in September 2006, having first been proposed by Sabeer Bhatia. It envisaged a joint venture between the state-owned Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation and a private venture owned by Bhatia. The city was to be constructed in two phases, the first covering 5,000 acres of land and the second a further 6,000. The proposal was [2] Real estate firm Parsvnath Developers joined the project in July 2008.[1]

The city was intended to include an airport, a golf course and a rapid transit system. However, by May 2010 no progress had been made. It was reported that Bhatia had failed to submit detailed plans for its construction.[3] In July 2010 the project was cancelled by the HSIIDC.[4]




I can understand when India follows this path given that there is a significant talent pool available locally in the country.

In addition you have some NRI (Non Resident Indians) streaming back home from the diaspora to build up companies.

In fact when companies started outsourcing to India, there was no posh infrastructure, guyz had to invest in heavy generators for power back up and worked in overheated rooms due to lack of AC. Much more challenges existed and they would have made India a no go place for those who went there looking for nice manicured lawns and helipads on buildings.

Nonetheless, western companies were willing to put up with the low quality of infrastructure since what made the difference was the availability of cheap skilled labor.

Today the situation in India is different both in infrastructure and maturity of the talent pool. Even though still not a bed of roses when it comes to conducting business especially the quality aspect of things, they have steadily progressed to have their own globally competitive companies.

It should be noted that one of Intel's processor (six-core Xeon 7400 Series processor) announced in 2008 was designed by Intel India.
a4architect.com
#86 Posted : Sunday, April 08, 2012 4:52:07 PM
Rank: Veteran

Joined: 1/4/2010
Posts: 1,668
Location: nairobi
Watch this video by John Perkins himself.

http://youtu.be/TFC18pFvo1g


On minute 22, he explains how Worldbank allows and funds projects that are not viable which are mostly conceptualized by Engineering firms.

Also,see this video on Wordbank and IMF operations.
Minute 13 to 16 explains in detail.

http://youtu.be/WYCH1Ylncxc


Ministry of info and their advisory team for Konza,Worldbank/IFC and the London based Engineers should come up with more concrete viability arguments.

The KES 800 Billion budget should be publicly displayed on their website for us to give our 2 cents.


http://youtu.be/TFC18pFvo1g
As Iron Sharpens Iron, So one Man Sharpens Another.
murchr
#87 Posted : Sunday, April 08, 2012 6:25:04 PM
Rank: Elder

Joined: 2/26/2012
Posts: 15,980
@a4architect, what makes tatu viable and konza not viable? To me Tatu is a dormitory city
"There are only two emotions in the market, hope & fear. The problem is you hope when you should fear & fear when you should hope: - Jesse Livermore
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a4architect.com
#88 Posted : Sunday, April 08, 2012 7:22:41 PM
Rank: Veteran

Joined: 1/4/2010
Posts: 1,668
Location: nairobi
murchr wrote:
@a4architect, what makes tatu viable and konza not viable? To me Tatu is a dormitory city

@ murchr.. both are viable as real estate projects.

One uses private sector funding and the other uses tax payer money to make the profit.

Tatu as a privately funded project does not pose any risk to tax payer and Kenya economy.

Konza as a taxpayer funded project needs to give more information to the public for scrutiny on its operations such as contracts with Worldbank/IFC and London based Engineers.

Check out this video here on Jamaica economy and Worldbank/IMF

http://youtu.be/e-ZE2L3_980
As Iron Sharpens Iron, So one Man Sharpens Another.
alma
#89 Posted : Sunday, April 08, 2012 7:36:17 PM
Rank: Elder

Joined: 7/20/2007
Posts: 4,432
This is my view mixed somehow with Konza

developers shall make it with or without Konza.
Jose: If I make it through this thug life, I'll see you one day. The Lord is the only way to stop the hurt.
murchr
#90 Posted : Sunday, April 08, 2012 10:19:56 PM
Rank: Elder

Joined: 2/26/2012
Posts: 15,980
a4architect.com wrote:
[quote=murchr]@a4architect, what makes tatu viable and konza not viable? To me Tatu is a dormitory city

@ murchr.. both are viable as real estate projects.

One uses private sector funding and the other uses tax payer money to make the profit.

Tatu as a privately funded project does not pose any risk to tax payer and Kenya economy.

Konza as a taxpayer funded project needs to give more information to the public for scrutiny on its operations such as contracts with Worldbank/IFC and London based Engineers.

Check out this video here on Jamaica economy and Worldbank/IMF

http://youtu.be/e-ZE2L3_980[/quote]

I know all about the WB and its undertakings...but that happens where the locals have no involvement. If you read the papers a few months ago, the hitmen in the country were against the LAPSSET projects....u and i know the reason why. You are in the real estate business, so am sure u are well versed with the real estate sector.....IT is a diff industry the seed has germinated let it flourish.

This is not the first project that the WB is funding, it funded the Kazi kwa vijana prog....its funding the informal settlement improvement project, the northern corridor project etc....dont worry we have economists who can handle the project...we just need visionary politicians
"There are only two emotions in the market, hope & fear. The problem is you hope when you should fear & fear when you should hope: - Jesse Livermore
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