New Tanzanian diplomatic base in Nairobi

A major building complex, funded by Tanzania's National Social Security Fund (NSSF), is to be built in Nairobi to house the Tanzanian diplomatic mission in Kenya.

The initial cost of the project is estimated at $40 million, with the state providing 20 per cent of the required capital and the NSSF contributing the remaining 80 per cent.

The 26-storey mixed-use development, to be known as Umoja House, will also include a shopping mall and business offices. The complex will be built at the junction of Mara and Hill roads in the city's affluent Upper Hill area, and construction work will begin in July.

Tanzanian foreign minister Bernard Membe said that income generated from the complex would go towards funding other diplomatic missions in Africa, while the head of NSSF Ramadhani Dau said that similar construction projects were planned for Tanzanian embassies in Kigali in Rwanda, Maputo in Mozambique, Abuja in Nigeria and Kinshasa in the DRC.

The NSSF was established in 1965. www.nssf.or.ke.