Dar’s skyscraper boom: Watchers see signs of prosperity

Dar es Salaam. The Haven of Peace is becoming the darling of skyscraper developers, mainly pension funds, banks and private real estate stakeholders that are investing heavily in high-rise buildings, with estimates showing that roughly $500 million (Sh840 billion) have been invested in five key projects at the city centre in the past few years.

Just a decade ago, what was visible in Dar es Salaam’s central business district (CBD) were ordinary storey buildings put up mainly by social security funds.

But, today, the city’s sky is crowded by massively tall buildings, amid concern that these cannot be well served by the outdated and limited infrastructure for water supply, power, sewerage system, roads, safety and security.

Buoyed by the growing demand for office space, business parks, hotel apartments, and restaurants, the past decade has seen developers being lured into putting their money into skyscraper construction.

 Dar’s GDP by the end of last year was Sh7.5 trillion ($4.6billion)—making it Tanzania’s richest city.

 As a result, the panoramic view of Dar es Salaam’s CBD is most enchanting, though therein lies issues that causes nervousness as more and skyscrapers spring up.

Someone standing on top of Uhuru Heights is likely to enjoy the beautiful scenery of Dar es Salaam city.

For the last two years, the building situated along Bibi Titi Mohammed Road and Magore Street has held the crown of being the tallest building within the CBD.

Built in 2012, the structure houses 27 floors, effectively dwarfing other occupied towers in the city.

But it is only a matter of time before Uhuru Heights gets dethroned as the tallest building around, as the proposed Kakakuona building will become the talk of the town upon its completion in 2017.

Named after the virtually extinct pangolin, Kakakuona is set to stand at 132.74 metres with 37 floors above the ground.

Uhuru Heights will watch helplessly as fast climbing PSPF Twin Towers will in the near future rule Dar’s skyline, albeit for two years before Kakakuona takes over.

The construction of the high-rise building located on Sokoine Drive at the heart of the city began in 2011 and now stands at 501 feet and has 35 floors, two short of Kakakuona.

Once it gets occupied, the building will be home to offices, parking garages and retail shops.

In the recent past, Dar es Salaam has been experiencing major facelifts with tall buildings mushrooming daily.

The trend has placed Dar in the league of cities on the continent with buildings that stand at least 100 metres.

Currently, Johannesburg leads the pack with Carlton Centre built in 1973 standing at 223 meters (732 feet). For many years, Nairobi’s Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC) held the crown as the tallest man-made structure in in East and Central Africa at completed in 1978, though it has been overtaken recently by the construction of what is considered the highest skyscrapers in the region.

 According to details gathered by The Citizen, Dar es Salaam is in the fourth position in East and Southern Africa with PSPF’s twin towers taking the top slot.

The clamour and allure for high-rise buildings in Dar started in 2006 with Bank of Tanzania’s twin towers that later became the city’s hallmarks, even featuring in currencies, including the Sh10,000 banknote.

Ever since, the city’s outlook began to transform with new tall structures; from PSPF House with 24 floors built in 2011, Umoja wa Vijana Complex (26 floors) built in 2012 and Millennium Tower with 27 floors, whose construction is still ongoing.

According to Mustafa Suleimanji, country manager for Lamudi, Tanzania’s largest real estate marketplace, an urge for such a trend was necessitated by the growing and booming economy in the country.

This has brought about the pressing demand for space, says Mr Suleimanji.

“Individuals and organisations want to be in the prime areas of business,” he says.  

While city authorities have in the recent past urged businesspersons to move away from the CBD to avoid over-congestions, Mr Suleimanji believes that it was crucial to create business hubs in urban areas to encourage interaction and to create a business community.

“There are solutions to the congestion which will be addressed in due course.  In addition to creating a business community, other cities worldwide have worked hard at constructing and forming industry clusters, and Dar will follow the footsteps to strengthen these communities, also welcoming and developing other industry areas.”

However, the Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner, Said Meck Sadick faulted the trend, wondering why it has gone unnoticed by planners while as the city is faced with dwindling infrastructure.

According to the RC, although it was economically viable, pertinent issues like water and drainage systems have been overlooked.

“It is no longer a secret that some of our infrastructure date back to 150 years, the city cannot handle such tall buildings,” he cautioned.

Mr Sadick says while issues of safety, key amenities and facilities have become Dar’s Achilles’ heel, it was wise for such buildings to be built in what he referred to as satellite areas like Bunju and Mbezi Beach.

However, Mr Suleimanji defends the trend, saying that additional space in the central areas will continue to offer a variety of businesses in the community and opportunity to participate in the growing market. 

“Not only is Dar’s iconic skyline being created, it also has provided the citizens with an option of spaces and is encouraging entrepreneurship. Spaces like these empower our people to work towards growing our economy. The variety provides a platform for various budget sizes,” he says.

Echoing similar sentiments, Mr Sultan Mundeme, a real estate consultant with GimcoAfrica, observes that the current facelift not only creates employment opportunities for Tanzanians; it also stimulates economic growth.

According to the veteran property consultant, the battle for the skies within the CBD is a reflection of the country’s economy growth.

“I think we need to have  even more high-rise structures because the Treasury will be getting tax from their occupants and definitely this will have an impact in our economy,” Mr Mundeme observes.

Nonetheless, he cautions that construction of such structures need to be well planned and coordinated to ensure that there is some “breathing space” after every building to avoid what he refers to choking.

He also suggests that each building should not only have fire hose reels and sprinklers within them, there should be fire hydrants nearby as well.

Each hydrant is supposed to be connected to a large underground pipe that draws water. But the Dar city and others upcountry are still struggling to restore the buried hydrants.

Last year, a survey carried out by the Fire and Rescue Unit established that 1,268 fire hydrants in various parts of the city were not functioning.

In early February 2003, fire gutted the 17th floor of the PPF Tower within the CBD,  leaving properties and important documents destroyed.

The skyscraper located at the corner of Ohio Street and Garden Avenue, was built in 1999 by the Parastatal Pensions Fund (PPF).

The then acting commissioner general of the Fire and Rescue Brigade, Mr Pius Nyambacha, hinted that the fire destroyed items that were in the 17th floor due to lack of automatic fire detectors.

In 1998, fire razed some floors in the 14-storey building of the NIC’s Kitega Uchumi, making it difficult for fire engines to put out the blaze.

Commenting on the trend of construction of skyscrapers within the CBD, Mr Mundeme credits PPF and NSSF for the bold moves of reshaping the Dar city outlook.

“I think they did a great job in revolutionising the trend, look at one of the NSSF’s champagne glass building is, it is just a sight to behold,” says Mr Mundeme.

According to this consultant who is also a senior lecture at Ardhi University, 20 years ago, it was Sukari House (32.29 meters), IPS building (43.05 metres) and Kitega Uchumi, which graced Dar skies.

“The rest is history, each day we have new beautiful buildings coming up in town, I think it will have positive impact in our economy,” he notes.

Standing at 828 metres and 2,717 feet, Dubai’s Burj Khalifa continues to be the tallest skyscraper, followed by Shanghai Tower in China which has 632 meters and 2,073 feet