NAIROBI, April 24 (Xinhua) -- Players in the Kenyan construction sector are counting losses as heavy rains pound the East African nation.
The rains have led to the death of at least 70 people and displaced thousands, according to local media reports. They also cut off roads and become a nightmare to the construction sector as developers choose to postpone work. The disruption means delayed completion of projects, pushing up costs.
"It is hard to build in these rains. You cannot do it especially if you are still at the initial stages or you are building the walls," contractor James Kyalo, a builder in Kitengela on the outskirts of Nairobi said Tuesday.
Kyalo stopped work on a storey building he is constructing in the area four days ago due to the rains.
"We were working on the foundation but it became an impossible task because each morning we would come and find the place flooded," he said.
"This meant we had to drain the water first before we could continue with work," he added. The draining involved pumping water out of the project using a hired generator.
"It cost 25 U.S. dollars a day to hire the machine, we found the costs unsustainable," he said. Besides, the rains destroyed previous day's work, leading to repetition of tasks.
The Meteorological Department in its latest update released Monday noted that heavy rains would continue in the East African nation until June. The department noted the rains have surpassed the initial forecast in terms of intensity.
Antony Kuyo, a real estate consultant with Avent Properties noted that rains increase costs by up to 30 percent in the worst case scenario.
"But in case of destroyed work, this goes higher. Costs rise because of delayed projects, high cost of materials like sand and stones which rise during the rainy season due to bad roads," he said.
The Kenyan real estate sector had started to boom following the conclusion of elections in 2017 and boosted by the unity deal struck between President Uhuru Kenyatta and his rival in last year's polls Raila Odinga.
Developers in the last months have been rushing to complete stalled projects while others had started new ones.
Forecasts from various firms tracking activities in the sector have predicted that the industry would expand this year but challenges like heavy rains may slow down growth.
