The Project to build Kenya’s tallest building at Upperhill Nairobi seems to have collapsed as a court case over its construction drags on.
According to reports, the construction stalled because of a land tussle pitting Ugandan tycoon James Mugoya and a trust started by former United Arab Emirates leader Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan against Hass Petroleum Group.
Excavation for the building started sometime in 2017 and had been completed at the beginning of 2018 and construction was about to begin.
In February 2019, the high court issued a warrant of arrest for the sentencing of the Dubai-based real estate moguls Poosapati Ramachandra Raju Sita and Mohamud Mahat Noor. The duo skipped a mention in which they were to plead for a lighter sentence.
Cnyakundi.com received information intimating the collapse of the venture as ‘contractor is dismantling and taking away equipment after about 2yrs without any progress on the court cases with regards to part of the land where it was to be constructed’
Mr Mugoya claimed in an affidavit that Kingorani Investments owned the land until December 10, 1998, when it was fraudulently transferred to Sigma Ltd. He further claims that Sigma transferred to Garanco Five Ltd, which granted White Lotus permission to build Pinnacle Tower. – claims of fraudulent land transfer
Danger to adjacent buildings
In January this year, concerns were raised over the impact of the huge excavation left unattended. Engineers expressed concerns that the adjacent Mwalimu Sacco building might collapse because of this.
The National Construction Authority has been informed to investigate and stop the construction but the government agency has been dragging its feet. The mater is urgent. We have been reporting the issue to the National Construction Authority and yet nothing is being done’, wrote our source. The matter had now been reported to the Engineers Registration Board. As a concerned citizen, such deep excavations adjacent to the Mwalimu Sacco building is dangerous. The mater is made worse by the excavations that has been left open for so long.
When completed, the skyscraper is expected to become the tallest building in Africa, and the third tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere, at 70 stories and over 1,000 feet in height.
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