NAIROBI, Kenya — Business Bay Square (BBS) founder Abdiweli Hassan has signed a landmark deal worth Sh 65 billion to develop 60 acres within Tatu City’s Special Economic Zone.
The ambitious project aims to deliver mixed-use housing, retail, offices, logistics, and community infrastructure over the next decade.
The agreement, released in a joint statement by the parties, outlines plans for residential units alongside 30 acres of parks and recreation zones, commercial hubs, warehousing, a mosque, and supporting amenities such as schools and offices.
Construction is expected to begin within a year, with phased rollouts over 10 years.
Hassan is already a prominent name in Nairobi’s property space, credited with transforming Eastleigh’s skyline through BBS Mall—a sprawling retail and entertainment complex with over 1,000 units across 130,000 m².
The mall is considered one of East and Central Africa’s largest mixed-use shopping developments.
In a quote included in the statement, Hassan said, “Tatu City offers the space and vision to deliver holistic communities that integrate living, work, and leisure—a model beyond congested city cores.”
Stephen Jennings, CEO of Rendeavour (developer of Tatu City), hailed the partnership as a signal of investor confidence in Kenya’s real estate future.
The project comes at a time when Kenya is repositioning parts of its urban expansion into well-planned satellite cities. Tatu City, spanning 5,000 acres, already offers tax incentives, zero-rated VAT, and import duties within its SEZ framework, making it attractive for developers and investors.
But the deal does not exist in a vacuum. BBS Mall’s ownership has recently been dragged into political and agricultural debates. Senator Okiya Omtatah has accused BBS’s owners of ties to rice import cartels that he claims disadvantage Kenyan farmers.
The mall’s legal team has issued retorts threatening defamation action if the allegations persist.
Analysts note that while the Tatu City deal is bold, it will depend heavily on execution, infrastructure delivery (roads, power, water), regulatory consistency, and real demand from Nairobi’s growing middle class.
If successful, it may shift investor appetite toward integrated communities rather than isolated commercial projects.
In the coming months, all eyes will be on groundbreaking, procurement transparency, environmental impact approvals, and how this deal meshes with Kenya’s broader urbanization and housing policies.
