Embakasi is a neighbourhood in the city of

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

. It is approximately , southeast of the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

. Embakasi is considered part of Nairobi's Eastlands area, lying to the south-east of

Nairobi County Nairobi City County is one of the 47 counties of Kenya. With an estimated population of 5,454,000 in 2024, it is the third-smallest in area of the counties, yet the most populous. It also serves as the capital of Kenya. The county entity was ...

. The Embakasi

proper Proper may refer to: Mathematics * Proper map, in topology, a property of continuous function between topological spaces, if inverse images of compact subsets are compact * Proper morphism, in algebraic geometry, an analogue of a proper map for ...

covers other estates in Eastlands such as

Donholm Doonholm or Donholm is a commercial and residential neighbourhood in Nairobi. A legacy of what was a dairy farm with the same name, Doonholm is a suburb in the Eastlands area of Nairobi. It is located east of the Nairobi central business distric ...

Pipeline A pipeline is a system of Pipe (fluid conveyance), pipes for long-distance transportation of a liquid or gas, typically to a market area for consumption. The latest data from 2014 gives a total of slightly less than of pipeline in 120 countries ...

, Tena, and Makadara estates. It borders

South C South C or South Compton ( during colonial times) is an upper-class residential estate located in the southland area of Nairobi. South C lies next to Wilson Airport. It is bordered by South B to the north-east, Langata Estate to the west and th ...

and contains South B and slightly more than one third of Nairobi's Industrial Area and

Export Processing Zone A free-trade zone (FTZ) is a class of special economic zone. It is a geographic area where goods may be imported, stored, handled, manufactured, or reconfigured and re-exported under specific customs regulation and generally not subject to ...

Jomo Kenyatta International Airport Jomo Kenyatta International Airport is an international airport serving Nairobi, the capital and largest city of Kenya. The other three important international airports in Kenya include Kisumu International Airport, Moi International Airport a ...

is located in Embakasi and it was known as Embakasi Airport when it was launched in 1958. Embakasi Airport in 1958 now JKIA

Embakasi Sub-county

The sub-county borrows its name from the neighbourhood and covers part of what was

Embakasi Constituency Embakasi Constituency, (formerly known as, Nairobi East Constituency), is a former Constituencies of Kenya, electoral constituency in Kenya. It was one of eight constituencies of Nairobi Province. It consisted of eastern and southeastern suburbs o ...

, and is one of the eleven sub-counties in Nairobi. It has a land area of . In the 2019 census, Embakasi had a population of 988,808, accounting for more than 22% of the total population of the county, and a population density of 11,460/km², making it the most populous of the sub-counties in

Nairobi City County Nairobi City County is one of the 47 counties of Kenya. With an estimated population of 5,454,000 in 2024, it is the third-smallest in area of the counties, yet the most populous. It also serves as the Capital city, capital of Kenya. The count ...

Government and infrastructure

The

Kenya Civil Aviation Authority Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) is a state corporation of Kenya that is responsible for regulating the aviation industry in Kenya and for providing air navigation services in the Kenya flight region. The KCAA offers training in the aviation ...

has its head office on the property of

in Embakasi.Welcome to KCAA
."

. Retrieved on 14 January 2011. "The Authority’s head offices are currently situated at KAA Complex, JKIA in Nairobi." The

Kenya Airports Authority Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) is the owner and operator of nine civilian airports and airstrips in Kenya. Kenya Airports Authority was established by an act of Parliament in 1992, by the ruling Kenya African National Union government. The KAA ...

also has its head office at the airport.

Education

Kifaru Primary School is a basic educational facility situated in the

Njiru Ward Njiru is the surname of the following people and places: People * Patrick Njiru (born 1957), a former Kenyan rally driver * Wawira Njiru, a Kenyan entrepreneur, nutritionist, and philanthropist * Jane Wanjuki Njiru, a Kenyan politician * Silas ...

near the Umoja Ward. Our Lady Of Nazareth Primary School is catholic school located in Mkuru Kwa Njenga Othe
Schools
in Embakasi Area

Economy

Kenya Airways Kenya Airways Ltd., more commonly known as Kenya Airways, is the flag carrier airline of Kenya. The company was founded in 1977, after the dissolution of East African Airways. Its head office is located in Embakasi, Nairobi, with its Airline hu ...

has its head office in Embakasi.

African Express Airways African Express Airways is a Somali-owned Kenyan airline with its head office at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Embakasi, Nairobi, Kenya. Services African Express Airways is a short-haul airline, which caters to business and leisure tr ...

has its head office on the grounds of

in Embakasi. JetLink Express has its head office in the Freight Complex in Embakasi.

Transport

Embakasi is the location of an Inland Container Depot popularly known as the dry port. Embakasi contains the bulk of the Nairobi portion of the Nairobi-Mombasa Highway. The Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway has a cargo station at Embakasi. In 2010, a passenger railway branchline was proposed from Embakasi to

to relieve overcrowding on the adjacent road. As of 2022, a low-frequency, unidirectional commuter service was available from the Embakasi SGR station.

2011 petrol fire

In September 2011 at least 75 people burned to death after a

petrol Gasoline (North American English) or petrol ( Commonwealth English) is a petrochemical product characterized as a transparent, yellowish, and flammable liquid normally used as a fuel for spark-ignited internal combustion engines. When formul ...

fire broke out in the division. The fire started when a

fuel tank A fuel tank (also called a petrol tank or gas tank) is a safe container for Flammability, flammable fluids, often gasoline or diesel fuel. Though any storage tank for fuel may be so called, the term is typically applied to part of an engine sys ...

at a depot belonging to the Kenya Pipeline Company, spilled fuel into an open sewer running through Embakasi. Residents tried to scoop up fuel from the burst pipe and sewer, and were burned when the petrol ignited after someone threw a

cigarette butt A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhaled via the oppo ...

into the sewer.

2024 gas explosion

A gas blast killed at three people and injured nearly 300 on February 2, 2024, in Embakasi. At midnight a lorry carrying gas cylinders exploded and igniting a huge blaze raging close to blocks of flats. The Kenyan government initially said, the accident happened at a gas plant where workers were refilling gas cylinders. Local authorities later clarified that a truck had exploded in a parking yard. The responsible Kenyan Authority Epra stated, that the gas plant was illegal and that it had rejected three applications for construction permits to build a storage and filling facility at the site in Embakasi.

References

{{Nairobi, state=collapsed Suburbs of Nairobi