Government's cheap housing project lifts building sectorCompletion of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) in 2018 led to a deceleration in the overall growth of the construction sector, Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) data shows. The government’s investments in road construction and development of housing projects under the affordable housing programme of the Big Four agenda were, however, on hand to compensate for losses observed by the termination of the mega SGR projects. The gross value added in the construction sector rose by an estimated 6.4 per cent in 2019 compared to 6.9 per cent in 2018. Uptake of credit in the construction sector grew by 1.6 per cent in 2019 compared to a 1.8 per cent growth in 2018. The construction industry contributed 5.6 per cent to the gross domestic product, slightly higher than the 5.5 per cent contribution experienced in 2018.

Source: Standard Digital April 28, 2020 22:18 UTC