Business
Kenya: Green Roofs in Nairobi on the rise
Official Support
Hopes are also high for the green construction technique in some developing markets like Kenya, where government officials are trying to push it up the political agenda.
A draft law on green roofing has been forwarded to Kenya’s parliament by the environment ministry, and is set to be debated in the current session, which ends in May or June. It proposes that all large new urban buildings, such as apartment blocks, should have green roofs.
There are several other major construction projects in the pipeline that also feature green roofing. They include Tattoo City, a housing and commercial building scheme that will create a whole new Nairobi suburb, offering housing, hospitals, hotels and restaurants, many of them sporting rooftop vegetation.
Another new urban settlement due to be built in the coming years is Konza City, which will be located near Machakos, a small town around 45 minutes drive from Nairobi.
Land has already been allocated for the construction of green-roofed residential, office and commercial buildings, in what is designed to become a “silicon savanna” once completed in 2020.
Wealthy individuals are following the trend too. John Mutisya, a Nairobi businessman, is halfway through building his own green-roofed house.
