The Pinnacle, also Pinnacle Towers, is a building on hold in

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 ...

, the capital and largest city of

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

. When completed, the skyscraper is expected to become the second tallest building in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

after

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

's Iconic Tower, and the third tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere, at 70 stories and over in height.

Location

The skyscraper is located in Upper Hill, on a piece of property, approximately , south-west of the city centre of

, the

capital city A capital city, or just capital, is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state (polity), state, province, department (administrative division), department, or other administrative division, subnational division, usually as its ...

of Kenya.

Overview

The development consists of two adjacent towers. The shorter tower, at 46 floors will house the 257-room, five-star ''Upper Hill Hilton Hotel'', the third Hilton franchise in Nairobi and the 50th on the African continent. The taller tower, with 70 floors, will feature eleven floors of commercial office space, nine floors of upscale rental retail space, and 46 floors with 210 upscale 1, 2 and 3-bedroom, serviced residential apartments. Other amenities include conference facilities, a gymnasium, luxury spa and an infinity pool. The taller tower will have a rooftop

helipad A helipad is the landing area of a heliport, in use by helicopters, powered lift, and vertical lift aircraft to land on surface. While helicopters and powered lift aircraft are able to operate on a variety of relatively flat surfaces, a fa ...

, to allow chopper directly from/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 ...

, away.

Ownership

The development is a joint venture by

Hass Petroleum HASS or HASS Petroleum is a privately owned oil marketing company headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya. History Hass Petroleum was founded in 1997 by two brothers, Abdirizak Ali Hassan and sitting Chairman Abdinasir Ali Hassan. The current CEO is Moham ...

East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

n petroleum products distributor and the White Lotus Group, a Dubai-based investment firm.

Construction and funding

The budgeted construction cost for the Pinnacle Towers is US$200 million. Of that, the developers contributed US$50 million and the balance was borrowed, from Afreximbank and some Kenyan banks. The main contractor is

China State Construction Engineering Corporation The China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC; ) is a Chinese state-owned construction company headquartered in Beijing. It is the largest construction company in the world by revenue and the 8th largest general contractor in terms ...

(CSCEC). Commissioning of the building is expected in 2020.

Delays and land ownership dispute

A dispute has arisen over ownership of part of the land being used for construction. The High Court has issued arrest warrants for the directors of White Lotus Projects, Poosapati Ramachandra Raju Sita and Mohamud Mahat Noor. The dispute began when legal action was taken against Hass Petroleum by Ugandan tycoon James Mugoya and a trust formed by former United Arab Emirates leader

Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan (; 6 May 1918 – 2 November 2004) was an Emirati royal, politician, philanthropist and the founder of the United Arab Emirates. Zayed served as the governor of Eastern Region from 1946 until he became ...

References