SH20BN FOR AFRICA'S TALLEST BUILDING IN UPPERHILL, NAIROBI, KENYA

The mixed-property building will also include five floors of shopping, entertainment, and restaurants plus a health spa, a gym and an infinity pool.

NAIROBI, Kenya – Work has begun on Africa’s tallest building with the laying of the foundation of a 70-floor mixed-use twin tower development in Nairobi’s Upperhill.

The Sh20 billion Pinnacle Towers – which also includes a 45-floor Hilton hotel – is being developed by Hass Petroleum and White Lotus project.

The Hass Petroleum and White Lotus project will also include 20 floors of Class A offices and a Hilton rooftop bar on the 43rd floor.

At 900 feet, the building will also have the highest viewing deck in Africa.

“The building will also have a helipad, which will be at over 800 feet, again, making it the highest on the continent. We thought it wise to put the helipad here so that people can fly directly to the hotel and beat Nairobi’s hectic traffic,” Hass Petroleum Executive Chair, East and Central Africa Abdinasir A. Hassan said during the laying of the foundation.

The landmark building will also include five floors of shopping, entertainment, and restaurants plus a health spa, gym and an infinity pool.

There will also be 200 residential houses ran by Hilton Hotel. These will include one bedroom, two bedrooms, and three bedroom fully furnished luxury apartments.

The building will also house 3 floors of basement parking, a gaming zone and a luxury mall spread across three floors.

Asked on whether an additional mall will create an oversupply of such establishments, Hassan says there’s enough appetite for shopping malls in the country, as there is for 5-star hotels.

“We cannot say that because we have built a few malls here and there, that there is an oversupply. Kenya is a tourism hub in the continent. Consider the case of Dubai for instance, there are over 1,500 5 star hotels, which is why everyone is heading there. The same can be said for malls,” Hassan said.

So far, the developers have spent Sh1.4 billion in the construction of the foundation and preparation stage, with the total cost of US$200 million funded through equity and debt.

Pinnacle Towers will be among the tallest buildings in the world.

Dubai’s Burj Khalifa is the tallest at 800M, Malaysia’s Petronas Towers stands at about 400M which compares well with The Pinnacle’s 300M.

Other world landmarks include the Eiffel Tower in Paris which is just below 300M, New York’s Time Warner Centre at about 200M and London’s Gherkin building at about 180M.

“We expect the entire building to be completed by December of 2019, although the 255-room hotel may be completed earlier,” Hassan said.

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