Construction Jobs Boom As Worth of Approved Building Plans Up - kenyadetails

The number of jobs in the building construction sub-sector is set to rise by a significant margin going by the value of approved plans in the first six months.

In Nairobi alone, the total value of building plans - residential and non-residential - amounted to Sh97 billion,

which was 38.7 per cent higher than the Sh70 billion worth of plans approved in a similar period a year before. The bulk of total building plans nationwide are approved in Nairobi county. The value of building plans approved countrywide in 2012 was higher by 15.4 per cent to Sh180.6 billion compared to Sh156.5 billion in 2011.

"This is partly explained by increased demand for housing due to the rapid population growth in urban areas," the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics says in the Economic Survey 2013. This was reflected in cement consumption, which was 1.7 per cent higher than 2011 to 3.94 million tonnes.

Total wage employment in the sector increased by 9.9 per cent last year over 2011, to 117,877 people. The rise in total cost of building construction materials and labour was lower in 2012 at 5.2 per cent compared to 6.4 per cent in 2011.