Govt Orders Nairobi Developer To Remove Plane Installed On Building [PHOTOS]

The National Construction Authority (NCA) has demanded that the developer of a residential building under construction in Utawala, Nairobi County remove a plane installed at the top of the building.

As per the directive sprayed with graffiti paint on the building's wall, NCA revealed that the installation of the plane was causing a structural overload on the building.

Boss Yator, a construction expert based in Nairobi, shared videos and photos of the plane atop the building while carrying out house-hunting expeditions in the booming residential area.

A photo of NCA's directive posted on the building's wall on September 11, 2023. /BOSS YATOR

The building is a three-storey structure with most of the construction revealed to still be ongoing, supported by frames.

Only the installation of doors, windows and balcony grilles from the first to the third floors remained as part of the finishing touches which included painting the building and internal decorations to make it appealing to tenants.

The positioning of the plane also raised some concerns with the front part of its fuselage installed on the left side of the building.

"Structure overload. Remove the plane," directed NCA on September 11.

Responding to a user on Facebook who wanted to inquire whether the contractor was load testing, Yator wrote "Not really. Just an arrogant owner doing his things."

As per the National Building Code, 2022 all dead loads including those of rooftop water tanks have to be factored in during the design process.

This ensures that the building can withstand the extra weight and avoid certain incidents such as building collapses which have been rampant in the country in recent years.

"In making the calculations where permanent partitions are shown in the plans, their actual weights shall be included in the dead load.

"The weights of tanks and other receptacles, and of their contents, shall be considered as dead loads; and the loads shall be calculated for the cases when a tank or receptacle is full and when it is empty," reads the regulations in part.

The presence of the plane would have posed a security threat to the building and its tenants upon its completion given the huge amount of activity witnessed by residents flocking to catch a glimpse of the building.

Old planes have been repurposed by Kenyan businesspeople into other amenities such as restaurants and lounges in a bid to win over customers in the Generation Z era through creative ways.

With cut-throat competition in the night club industry, one such owner of the luxurious Kitengela-based Club 034 took an idea from Bangkok, Thailand and converted a decommissioned aircraft from Kenya Airways into a unique 5-star night club and restaurant in Kitengela, at a cost of Ksh8 million.

Image of the exterior of Kitengela-based Club 034 converted from a plane. /AFRICAN TORCH