Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, has the country’s tallest buildings. It was named the most innovative city in Africa and among the top 100 cities worldwide by independent real estate consultancy firm Knight Frank in April 2021.
Nairobi came in first, ahead of Cape Town, according to the Africa Horizons report for the year 2021/22. Kampala, Uganda’s capital, came in third, followed by Cairo, Egypt, and Johannesburg, South Africa.
Despite having less robust economies, Tilda Mwai, an Africa researcher at Knight Frank, said investors were willing to put their money in Nairobi, Kampala, and Cape Town because of their high innovation scores.
Some of the tallest buildings in Nairobi include the pinnacle towers, the britam tower, the old mutual building, and the Kenyatta International Convention Centre.
Foreign investors have built tall buildings in Nairobi in the last decade, altering the city’s skyline.
Tallest Buildings In Nairobi
1. Pinnacle Tower
Once completed, the KSh 20 billion Pinnacle Tower in Nairobi’s Upper Hill area will be the country’s tallest structure. It consists of two towers, one of which has 46 floors (200.8 meters) and the other of which has 70 floors (300 meters).
Hass Petroleum and the White Lotus Group, led by Indian tycoon Vijaykumar Naidu, are working on it together.
China State Construction Engineering Corporation is in charge of its construction, which began in 2018.
Developers contributed $50 million to the project, with the rest coming from Afreximbank and other Kenyan banks. The construction of the skyscraper has been hampered by delays and legal battles.
2. Britam Tower
Britam Tower, a 200-meter-high office complex in Nairobi’s Upper Hill, surpassed UAP Old Mutual Tower as Kenya’s tallest building in July 2018.
The 31-story tower, whose construction began in early 2013 and ended in September 2017, features a prismatic design that is truly unique. The structure resembles a black pyramid with the top corner missing at its widest point, and it becomes a more slender black prism from other perspectives.
Britam Tower was named the 10th best skyscraper in the world in 2018, making it the first building in Africa to be honored in the Emporis Skyscrapers Award’s 19-year history.
3. Nairobi GTC Office Tower
The Nairobi GTC Office Tower, the tallest of the six towers that make up the Sh40 billion Global Trade Centre, has joined the list of Kenya’s tallest structures.
Avic, a Chinese firm, is establishing its continental hub on a 7.5-acre plot of land in Westlands, Nairobi, with a 184-meter, 43-story office building as its Africa headquarters.
The tower, which was under construction since July 2015, was opened in December 2021.
4. UAP Old Mutual Tower
After more than five years of construction, the 163-meter UAP Old Mutual Tower in Upper Hill became Nairobi’s tallest building when it opened in July 2016.
The 33-story structure, which was later renamed Britam Tower, provides 300,000 square feet of Grade A office space in Nairobi’s fastest-growing commercial district.
UAP Old Mutual Tower, at 5,700 feet above sea level, is Nairobi’s highest point, surpassing Rahimtulla Tower, which previously held the title.
5. Nairobi GTC Hotel Tower
The completion of the Nairobi GTC Hotel Tower, the second tallest of the Global Trade Centre’s six towers, has added a new name to Kenya’s list of tallest skyscrapers.
The 141-meter-tall, 35-story structure is expected to house Marriott International’s star-studded JW Marriott hotel chain.
The Nairobi GTC Hotel Tower, whose construction began in July 2015, opened in December 2021.
6. Times Tower
Times Tower, also known as New Central Bank Tower, is a 140-meter skyscraper in Nairobi that is solely used by the Kenya Revenue Authority. It is located on Haile Selassie Avenue.
The 38-story structure, which opened in 2000, is built on a concrete raft that ranges in thickness from 0.9 to 3.0 meters and is designed to withstand powerful earthquakes.
The building has a 7-storey banking complex and an 11-split storey car park.
7. Prism Tower
The Kings Prism Tower is a 133-meter tall skyscraper in Nairobi’s Upper Hill neighborhood.
The 34-story structure, which is designed to look like prisms stacked on prisms, was completed in 2018.
A spectrum of vivid colors emerges whenever a ray of light passes through the prismatic facades of the building, bringing to life the owner’s vision of illuminating Nairobi residents’ creative productivity.
Kings Developers, a wholly Kenyan-owned property development company that was founded as part of the Royal Group of Companies, owns the Kings Prism Tower.