According to data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), the value of building approvals in Nairobi surged by Sh50.3 billion to Sh195.1 billion in the 11 months leading up to November last year, indicating significant #growth despite the persistent #high costs of construction materials.
This marked an #improvement from the Sh144.9 billion recorded during a similar period in 2022, with residential projects experiencing a notable increase of Sh51 billion, while non-residential projects saw a slight decline of Sh749.98 million. Notably, November registered the highest number of #approvals, amounting to Sh18 billion, compared to Sh16.2 billion in October.
The latest data from KNBS reveals that while the value of approved residential buildings slightly rose from KSh 13.7 billion in October 2023 to KSh 14.0 billion in November 2023, the #value of approved non-residential buildings decreased from KSh 4.4 billion to KSh 2.2 billion during the same period. Meanwhile, the Architectural Association of Kenya (AAK) Built Environment Report for the previous month highlighted a notable increase in the cost of #construction materials, such as steel reinforcement #bars and #cement, which saw prices rise from Sh34,650 to 77,500 at the start of 2023 to Sh41,600 to 100,800 by December 2023.
For instance, the price of steel reinforcement bars surged from Sh140.6 per kilogram in December 2022 to Sh160.26 per kilogram in December 2023, reflecting a growth of 14.29 percent, while a 50 kg bag of cement climbed from Sh650 to Sh750 during the same period.
Story: https://zurl.co/yl23
