The Pinnacle, also Pinnacle Towers, is a building on hold in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

, the capital and largest city of

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. When completed, the skyscraper is expected to become the second tallest building in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

after

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

's Iconic Tower, and the third tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere, at 70 stories and over in height.

Location

The skyscraper is located in Upper Hill, on a piece of property, approximately , south-west of the city centre of

, the

capital city A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, Department (country subdivision), department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city ...

of Kenya.

Overview

The development consists of two adjacent towers. The shorter tower, at 46 floors will house the 257-room, five-star ''Upper Hill Hilton Hotel'', the third Hilton franchise in Nairobi and the 50th on the African continent. The taller tower, with 70 floors, will feature eleven floors of commercial office space, nine floors of upscale rental retail space, and 46 floors with 210 upscale 1, 2 and 3-bedroom, serviced residential apartments. Other amenities include conference facilities, a gymnasium, luxury spa and an infinity pool. The taller tower will have a roof-top

helipad A helipad is a landing area or platform for helicopters and powered lift aircraft. While helicopters and powered lift aircraft are able to operate on a variety of relatively flat surfaces, a fabricated helipad provides a clearly marked hard s ...

, to allow chopper directly from/to

Jomo Kenyatta International Airport Jomo Kenyatta International Airport , is an international airport in Nairobi, the capital of and largest city in Kenya. The other three important international airports in Kenya include the Kisumu International Airport, Moi International Airp ...

, away.

Ownership

The development is a joint venture by

Hass Petroleum HASS or HASS Petroleum is a privately owned oil marketing company headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya. History Hass Petroleum was founded in 1997 by two brothers, Abdirizak Ali Hassan and sitting Chairman Abdinasir Ali Hassan. The current CEO is Moham ...

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

n petroleum products distributor and the White Lotus Group, a Dubai-based investment firm. The

White Lotus Conglomerate White Lotus Conglomerate is a group of Indian companies that operate in sectors including real estate, mining, entertainment, sport, agriculture, education, finance and manufacturing. It is headed by businessman Vijay Kumar Naidu, otherwise known a ...

is run by Indian businessman and godman Vijaykumar Naidu, otherwise known as

Kalki Bhagwan Kalki Bhagawan (born 7 March 1949 as Vijay Kumar Naidu), also known as Sri Bhagavan, is a self-styled Indian godman, cult leader, businessman, and a real estate investor. A former clerk in the LIC, he claims to be an incarnation of God (th ...

. Helping him run the business are his son N.K.V. Krishna and daughter-in-law

Preetha Krishna Preetha Krishna (also known as Preetha Ji, Preetha ji, Preethaji and Krishnapreetha Ramabagavaddasa; born 2 December 1974 in Chennai

Construction and funding

The budgeted construction cost for the Pinnacle Towers is US$200 million. Of that, the developers contributed US$50 million and the balance was borrowed, from Afreximbank and some Kenyan banks. The main contractor is

China State Construction Engineering Corporation The China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) () is the largest construction company in the world by revenue and the 8th largest general contractor in terms of overseas sales, as of 2020. While most of the assets of CSCEC were flo ...

(CSCEC). Commissioning of the building is expected in 2020.

Delays and land ownership dispute

A dispute has arisen over ownership of part of the land being used for construction. The High Court has issued arrest warrants for the directors of White Lotus Projects, Poosapati Ramachandra Raju Sita and Mohamud Mahat Noor. The dispute began when legal action was taken against Hass Petroleum by Ugandan tycoon James Mugoya and a trust formed by former United Arab Emirates leader

Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan ( ar, زَايِد بِن سُلْطَان آل نَهْيَان, Zāyed bin Sulṭān Āl Nahyān; 6 May 1918 – 2 November 2004) was an Emirati politician, statesman, and philanthropist who served as ...

References