Sudhir’s new Shs36bn property

Real estate experts react on the Electrical Plaza near Nakasero Market

Kampala, Uganda | JULIUS BUSINGE | Plot 11, Market Street and Kiyembe Lane in Kampala Central District have changed their physical face following the official opening of a new commercial building – Electrical Plaza.

It joins a list of several commercial and residential property owned by Ruparelia Group of Companies in Kampala City.

The building is said to have cost approximately $10million (Shs36.6billion), according to the Group Chairman, Sudhir Ruparelia.

The property, which opened for business last month, is currently one of the tallest buildings on the Market Street in Nakasero, downtown Kampala, according to experts in this field.

Designed as a mixed development property, offering both residential and commercial space to tenants, the building has 220 shops, 56 apartments and two floors for car parking.

Sudhir said the design was selected based on the fact that it is increasingly becoming difficult to own land in Kampala’s Central Business District (CBD) yet there is need for more residential and commercial properties.

“We have many middle class Ugandans who are working in the city but reside very far from it…we have put apartments on this property to save you daily transport and the associated inconveniences,” he said, adding that the apartments cost Shs1-2million per month.

“We (hope) to ring back life to the city,” he said, “People had run away from the centre but we believe there should be life back in the city… you do business but also stay here and this is what we want to achieve in the long run ”

While this is not the first property to have mixed commercial offers in the city, real estate experts agree with Sudhir that heavy traffic jam amidst tight schedules for office workers require more of these properties to be established in Kampala and the neighboring areas.

John Musiime from UAP Properties Uganda Limited told The Independent on Oct.05 that mixed properties in the city will make it convenient for those that do not want to stay far away from the CBD.

But he added that as the city expands outwards, developers of the Sudhir type have to shift their investments to those areas where most people are going to establish offices for different services.

Musiime added that the CBD has limited land to accommodate more of these properties compared to the city’s surrounding areas that are currently offering more space for residential, commercial and recreational facilities.

This development comes a few months after Ruparelia Group of Companies opened officially Kingdom Kampala Mall that sits on a 14-acre piece of land located on Nile Avenue, Yusuf Lule Road and Dewinton Road. The group also recently opened Speke Apartments that continues to attract high end clients.

It also comes amidst Knight Frank’s – a property agency firm – latest report indicating that rent for office space in prime locations in Kampala city has remained stable at $14.5 (Approx.Shs53, 000) per square metre for most months of 2019.

This was attributed to the increasing number of tenants seeking rental properties out of the CBD citing congestion and high rental costs.

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