Embakasi is a neighbourhood in the city of

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 ...

. It is approximately , southeast of the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

. Embakasi is considered part of Nairobi's Eastlands area, lying to the south-east of

Nairobi County Nairobi City County is one of the 47 counties of Kenya. With a population of 4,397,073 in the 2019 census, it is the third smallest yet the most populous of the counties, also serving as the capital of Kenya. In 2013, the county entity was effe ...

. The Embakasi

proper Proper may refer to: Mathematics * Proper map, in topology, a property of continuous function between topological spaces, if inverse images of compact subsets are compact * Proper morphism, in algebraic geometry, an analogue of a proper map for ...

covers other estates in Eastlands such as Donholm, Pipeline, Tena, and Makadara estates. It borders

South C South C (also known as Southside or South Compton) is a middle-class residential estate located in the southland area of Nairobi. South C lies next to Wilson Airport. It is bordered by South B to the East, Langata Estate to the west and the Nairob ...

and contains South B and slightly more than one third of Nairobi's Industrial Area and

Export Processing Zone A free-trade zone (FTZ) is a class of special economic zone. It is a geographic area where goods may be imported, stored, handled, manufactured, or reconfigured and re- exported under specific customs regulation and generally not subject to cu ...

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 ...

is located in Embakasi and it was known as Embakasi Airport when it was launched in 1958. Embakasi Airport in 1958 now JKIA

Embakasi Sub-county

The sub-county borrows its name from the neighbourhood and covers part of what was Embakasi Constituency, and is one of the eleven sub-counties in Nairobi. It has a land area of . In the 2019 census, Embakasi had a population of 988,808, accounting for more than 22% of the total population of the county, and a population density of 11,460/km², making it the most populous of the sub-counties in

Nairobi City County Nairobi City County is one of the 47 counties of Kenya. With a population of 4,397,073 in the 2019 census, it is the third smallest yet the most populous of the counties, also serving as the capital of Kenya. In 2013, the county entity was effe ...

Government and infrastructure

The

Kenya Civil Aviation Authority Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) is a state corporation of Kenya that is responsible for regulating the aviation industry in Kenya and for providing air navigation services in the Kenya flight region. The KCAA offers training in the aviatio ...

has its head office on the property of

in Embakasi.Welcome to KCAA
."

. Retrieved on 14 January 2011. "The Authority’s head offices are currently situated at KAA Complex, JKIA in Nairobi." The

Kenya Airports Authority Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) is the owner and operator of nine civilian airports and airstrips in Kenya. Kenya Airports Authority was established by an act of Parliament in 1992, by the ruling Kenya African National Union government. The KAA A ...

also has its head office at the airport.

Education

Kifaru Primary School is a basic educational facility situated in the

Njiru Ward Njiru is the surname of the following people and places: People * Patrick Njiru (born 1957), a former Kenyan rally driver * Wawira Njiru, a Kenyan entrepreneur, nutritionist, and philanthropist * Jane Wanjuki Njiru, a Kenyan politician * Silas ...

near the

Umoja Ward Umoja, the Swahili word for "unity", may refer to: *Umoja, the first of The Seven Principles (Nguzo Saba), celebrated and highlighted each day of the Kwanzaa holiday celebration * Umoja, Kenya, an all-female village founded on the principles of ...

. Othe
Schools
in Embakasi Area

Economy

Kenya Airways Kenya Airways Ltd., more commonly known as Kenya Airways, is the flag carrier airline of Kenya. The company was founded in 1977, after the dissolution of East African Airways. Its head office is located in Embakasi, Nairobi, with its hub a ...

has its head office in Embakasi.

African Express Airways African Express Airways is a Somali-owned Kenyan airline with its head office at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Embakasi, Nairobi, Kenya. Services African Express Airways is a short-haul airline, which caters to business and leisure t ...

has its head office on the grounds of

in Embakasi.

JetLink Express JetLink Express was a Kenyan regional airline with its head office in the Freight Complex in Embakasi, Nairobi. It operated out of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. All flight activities have been stopped since 16 November 2012, due to finan ...

has its head office in the Freight Complex in Embakasi.

Transport

Embakasi is the location of an Inland Container Depot popular known as the dry port. Embakasi contains the bulk of the Nairobi portion of the Nairobi-Mombasa Highway. The Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway has a cargo station at Embakasi. In 2010, a passenger railway branchline was proposed from Embakasi to

to relieve overcrowding on the adjacent road. As of 2022, a low-frequency, unidirectional commuter service was available from the Embakasi SGR station.

2011 petrol fire

In September 2011 at least 75 people burned to death after a

petrol Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic c ...

fire broke out in the division. The fire started when a

fuel tank A fuel tank (also called a petrol tank or gas tank) is a safe container for flammable fluids. Though any storage tank for fuel may be so called, the term is typically applied to part of an engine system in which the fuel is stored and propelle ...

at a depot belonging to the Kenya Pipeline Company, spilled fuel into an open sewer running through Embakasi. Residents tried to scoop up fuel from the burst pipe and sewer, and were burned when the petrol ignited after someone threw a

cigarette butt A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhaled via the oppo ...

into the sewer.

References

{{Nairobi, state=collapsed Populated places in Kenya Suburbs of Nairobi