China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) recently announced the successful completion of 260 apartment units in Building B of the Park Road Affordable Housing Project in Nairobi, Kenya, seven months ahead of the construction schedule.

Kenya is facing an annual housing shortage of 250,000 units. Answering this pressing demand, the Nairobi Park Road Affordable Housing Project undertaken by CSCEC became the first affordable housing project of the Kenyan government dedicated to improving people's livelihood. The project is located in the Engra district of Nairobi, covering an area of 32,000 square meters. It planned to build 1,370 affordable housing units and provide a benchmark demonstration for the construction of 500,000 units of affordable housing in Kenya.

Since the start of the project, it received wide attention from all walks of life in Kenya. On May 22, 2019, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta paid a visit to the construction site, highly appraised the progress of the project construction, and thanked CSCEC for its contribution to the economic development of Kenya by implementing the project. On May 28, 2019, Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama visited the project and gave high recognition to the management of the construction site.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the project management team has set up a coronavirus working group, established a three-level working mechanism, and formulated an emergency plan for pandemic prevention and control. The project management has also organized online courses and on-site drills for employees to learn about COVID-19 prevention and control. At the same time, the management team has reserved sufficient supplies to provide logistics support for the project.

The project officially entered the construction phase on Feb. 5, 2019. As one of the first affordable housing engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) projects in the overseas market undertaken by CSCEC, the project design team had to deal with difficulties in organizing and coordinating its architectural, structural, and electromechanical resources and expertise.

The design institute of China Construction Seventh Engineering Division Corporation Ltd. sent professional construction and structure designers to the site to supervise the implementation of the project, and to provide support for the optimization of building functions and structures. The designers have brought their expertise to the construction site, and played a pivotal role in the efficient delivery of the project.

The global spread of COVID-19 coincided with the rainy season in Kenya, making it difficult for bulk imported construction materials to enter the construction site. For this reason, the project management team discussed with the subcontractors to formulate a holistic plan for COVID-19 prevention and control, construction agenda, recruitment, and logistics solutions for both the construction materials and the machineries. To ensure on-time delivery of construction materials, the project management adopted strict follow-up measures requiring hourly updates on material delivery status and immediate report of any difficulties encountered. The project management also stayed in close contact with the local workers to ensure the smooth progress of the project and non-stop production on site.

To ensure the on-schedule delivery of the project, the project management team has made a thorough analysis of the construction agenda, and adjusted personnel deployment on site to concentrate on resources on the construction of Building B. The project management department has also divided all workers into separate shifts to ensure non-stop construction on site. In the stage of hydropower installation, the installation workers paid due attention to following the COVID-19 prevention and control guidelines while proceeding with installation.

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