By John Wanjoh
Work on what will be Africa’s tallest building has kicked off after the laying of the foundation of a 70-floor mixed-use twin tower development in Nairobi’s Upper Hill area.
Hass petroleum in collaboration with White Lotus project will be developing the Sh20 billion Pinnacle Towers, which will include a 45-floor Hilton hotel.
The tower will also have 20 floors of Class A offices and a Hilton rooftop bar on the 43rd floor and the highest viewing deck in Africa at 900 feet.
The landmark structure will further have five floors of shopping, entertainment, and restaurants plus a health spa, gym and an infinity pool.
In addition, there will be 200 residential houses ran by Hilton Hotel, which will include one, two, and three bedroom fully furnished luxury apartments.
Three floors of basement parking, a gaming zone and a luxury mall spread across three floors will also be housed in the landmark building.
“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.
Hassan dismissed claims that the new project will create an oversupply in the hotel and malls business.
“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.
Pinnacle Towers will be among the tallest buildings in the world and the tallest in the African continent.
“We expect the entire building to be completed by December of 2019, although the 255-room hotel may be completed earlier,” Hassan said.
Source: mwakilishi.
