Chinese investment to boost Kenya's real estate sector: Official

NAIROBI - Chinese investments are boosting Kenya's real estate sector through technology transfer, a real estate firm said on Thursday.

Ben Woodhams, managing director at Knight Frank Kenya, told Xinhua in Nairobi that Chinese contractors have been able to deliver high quality buildings in less time as compared to the local construction industry.

"What we are seeing is new forms of technology from China in terms of building efficiency in the form and type of construction which are spilling over to the rest of the market players," Woodhams said during the release of The Wealth Report 2018.

He said that Chinese contractors have introduced healthy competition in the real estate. "This has had a positive impact on the economy by lowering the cost of houses for the consumers," he added.

Woodham said that Kenya is a real estate hub in Africa alongside Lagos in Nigeria and South Africa's Johannesburg.

He noted that through Chinese building technology, Kenya will be able to enhance the status of its real estate even further.

The official said that the primary impact of Chinese in Kenya has been in massive government infrastructure projects such as roads and railway.

He said that in the private sector their activities have been concentrated in residential apartments.

"Now we are seeing them move onto the commercial real estate sector and especially in constructing big mixed-use schemes consisting of retail shops, office space and hotels," he added.