Hilshaw Group and Athi River City sign agreement

Dubai-based Hilshaw Group has announced that they have been selected as exclusive advisors and overall project and financing consultants for the Athi River Smart Green City project in the Kenyan capital Nairobi.

The Athi River Smart Green City project is located 10km from the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, alongside the Nairobi - Mombasa Highway. The development will be home to a self-contained community including commercial, offices, retail spaces, restaurants, hotels, a green resort, golf course, schools, university, community centres, hospitals, sports, leisure, and entertainment facilities in addition to over 4,000 residential units.

Hilshaw Group primarily invests in low supply and finite real estate opportunities. The company has allocated $175 million towards UAE real estate, specifically towards the facilitation of the Remote Work Visa program.

Hilshaw Group’s UAE plans involve the customization of 'Ready to Move-in' Real Estate for the post-Covid-19 adoption of the 'Work from Home' concept. Hilshaw is pre-negotiating remote work contracts at the employer level within international tech and fintech industries and is looking to relocate over 1,200 employees during its first phase.

The project principals, Kenya's Jetblack Group (Jetblack Energy), have planned the Smart Green City to be a pollution-free environment where the entire city’s energy production will be done through a Waste Power Plant. Waste from Machakos County and the Athi River Project will be processed through the Plant’s 4 Reactors to produce over 576MW in 24 hours with zero emissions. The projected volumes will be achieved by processing 400 tonnes of solid waste.

The public transport within the development will run exclusively on electric, hybrid and the waste power plant produced biogas. Residents will be issued special permits for conventionally powered vehicles upon fulfillment of emission regulations.

In addition to the city's green infrastructure, urban planning is being done to adhere to post-pandemic requirements and social variations.

"As tragic as it is, there are some critical things we can learn from the pandemic. The world and we, as a people, were simply not ready or prepared for an occurrence that demanded social restrictions. Thankfully the environment has been on everyone's mind for many years, and green cities are a future we are certain of. The smart component of the Athi River project is being planned to be more adaptive in the face of future uncertainties," said Lal Bhatia, chairman, Hilshaw Group.

"Megaprojects like Athi River Smart Green City are only possible as a joint collaboration of experts, the public and private sectors, and like-minded visionaries. Similarly, evolutionary plans can only be achieved in the presence of teams and partners who themselves have the ability to evolve. Hilshaw Group has proven its ability to do so over the years and has its successes to prove it. We are delighted to have them as part of this monumental Kenyan dream," said Keshoney Elisha, president Jetblack Group.

The project is planned to commence development by May 2022, and the first Phase release is envisioned to be by the end of 2025.

business@khaleejtimes.com