Chinese contractors play positive role in Kenya's housing market: Expert

NAIROBI - Chinese contractors are playing a positive role in Kenya's housing market, a land expert said on Wednesday.

Mwenda Makathimo, executive director of the Land Development and Governance Institute (LDGI) which advocates for land justice by empowering local communities in Kenya, told Xinhua in Nairobi that Chinese contractors have improved the turnaround time for the real estate sector.

"Chinese contractors have increased the supply of affordable houses and hence help to stabilize the price of houses in the country," Makathimo said during the release of a report on the status of service delivery in the land sector.

The report recommends the government to computerize land records in order to ensure easy and faster retrieval of information.

Makathimo, former chairman of the Institute of Surveyors of Kenya who was also a Commissioner of the Interim Independent Boundaries Review Commission, noted that real estate players from the Asian nation have injected a lot of discipline and efficiency in Kenya's construction sector.

"Kenyan contractors can learn a lot from their Chinese counterparts and borrow techniques to use to reduce the housing deficit," he said.

According to LDGI, the prices of houses have remained beyond the reach of many ordinary citizens due to the high cost of land especially in the urban centers.

Makathim observed that Chinese contractors have been able to lower the cost of housing units by delivering a large number of houses per unit of land.