Real estate firm Jabavu Village Limited (JVL) has denied claims that one of its projects — The Jevanjee Housing Estate in Ngara, Nairobi — has stalled.

In a statement from Managing Director Abdulkadir A. Hussein, JVL says the construction of the project is still on course, bar for initial delays caused by acquisition of the land for construction, the Covid 19 pandemic and sharp increase in steel prices following the Ukraine war.

“The project’s progress is currently at 50 percent with affordable housing units set to be complete by September 2025 and market units by September 2026,” Abdulkadir says.

The real estate firm assures that there will be two towers of 400 units each rising to 14 floors. “The construction of the structures for towers three and four are complete with roofing for tower three almost finalised. Towers 1 and 2 have been constructed up to 9th floor.”

Jabavu has also refuted claims that it used a title deed belonging to the Nairobi City County Government to secure a KSh1.9 billion loan from a local bank, for funding the project.

“The Jevanjee land was originally owned by the Nairobi City Council but was legally transferred to the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) created for the project: Nairobi Bachelors Jevanjee Estate Limited on July 25, 2019. Upon transfer to the SPV, Jabavu Village Ltd currently holds 80 percent shares and the Nairobi City County Government 20%,” Abdulkadir says in the statement.

He adds: “The higher shareholding of Jabavu Village Ltd in the SPV is because we have invested funds in the development. According to the agreement, the county was to provide land while the firms were to source for funds to invest in the project as part of the joint venture.”

Consequently, Abdulkadir says the firm approached a bank for a KSh1.9 billion facility to fund part of the project. Jabavu Village has so far drawn KSh450 million against work certificates issued by the contractor and supporting consultants, he says.