The covid-19 pandemic is beginning to slow down in Kenya with reports of infection rate coming down to less than 3% in the month of October. The construction industry in Kenya suffered just like most industries in Kenya. This coming year will not be different for real estate Kenya as will be other companies in other industries.
Continued Downturn in Projects
Construction work plunged by over 10% from the time COVID-19 was reported in the country in March 2020. This situation is liked to continue in 2022 because of the election which is coming up in August 2022. Developers are likely to defer projects or construction funds will be harder to mobilize.
Construction workers will remain jobless as builders in Kenya will have fewer projects to undertake.
Collapsed Buildings
There has been increase in the number of collapsed buildings. The Counties of Nairobi and Kiambu are the worse hit counties in times of collapse buildings. Construction companies in Kenya will face a closer scrutiny by regulatory authorities. In fact, in a communication issued through the government of Kenya free Newsletter, National Construction Authority (NCA) has indicated that they will soon be doing routine checks on construction sites and any site not complying will stand suspended.
There are some projects which are ongoing or currently on temporary stoppage which are likely to commence work in 2022. Some of these projects because of poor workmanship at the start may result into another collapse and this will further damage the name of contractors in Kenya. A construction company Kenya must therefore ensure their work is above board and is safe and passes the entire requirements layout by the relevant bodies.
Builders in Kenya must now set and maintain standards so that in a few years’ time, there will be less or no case of collapse building anywhere in Kenya. This require everyone in real estate Kenya, not just contractors but also developers, various professionals like engineers, architects, etc to act together and for the right course.
More of Smaller residential projects
There is a disparity between the residential and non-residential construction. In 2022, bigger projects are likely to be less compared to the past few years. Smaller projects like residential homes are likely to take centre stage as they require smaller amounts to execute. Construction companies in Kenya will have to reorganize and stay afloat with the smaller projects as we go through the election period.
Joint venture projects which attract millions of shillings are likely to become hard to come by in 2022 as investors would prefer to adopt wait and see attitude until after the election is concluded. In the event of election victory in the first round and no court contest, then the country is likely to be back to normalcy after three months. Builders in Kenya must find ways to balance between remaining in operation profitably and not letting go the core work force which has been part of the organization success.
One good indication even as the industry is facing challenging time due to pandemic and the coming up election is that there is a growing trend of more nonresidential construction. This will create even a bigger opportunity to contractors in Kenya after the pandemic and elections. More new properties are likely to be put up in the outer rims of metropolitan areas and also to a lesser extent to in smaller towns and counties.
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