Ksh9.6B Bunge Tower: 330 Offices, Gym & Tech Allowing Kenyans To Follow MPs [VIDEO]

President William Ruto on Thursday, April 25 officially opened the 28-storey Bunge Tower in Nairobi.

Conceived in 2009, Bunge Tower is the culmination of the Parliamentary Service Commission's (PSC) vision to modernize Parliament by addressing office space limitations and accommodate the increased bicameral Parliament of 349 Members of the National Assembly and 67 Members of the Senate. 

The tower was initially set to cost taxpayers Ksh5.89 billion, only for the amount to be raised to Ksh9.6 billion, a matter that led to critics claiming alleged misuse of public resources and questioning whether Kenyans got value for their money.

President William Ruto (right) chatting with Senate Speaker Amason Kingi at Bunge Towers in the company of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and National Assembly Speaker, Moses Wetangula. /SENATE KENYA

During the launch, National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula hailed the completion of the tower's construction bragging that it was better than the House of Commons in the United Kingdom.

Viral Tea takes a look at the features of the multi-billion tower:

Design

The 28-storey building features an architectural design inspired by the shield emblem featured in the Kenyan flag and engraved in Parliament Buildings.

The shield, with its intricate design, has been a symbol of protection and unity for centuries in Kenyan culture. 

Features

Bunge Tower consists of 331 dedicated offices for senators and legislators to facilitate their operations. The building has 26 Committee rooms located on the first, second, third and fifth floors which are fitted with advanced audio-visual and conference management systems.

Additionally, four committee rooms are fitted with video conference facilities to enable remote presentations.

The first floor consists of; a Parliament Library equipped with a collection of 50,000 documents, reports, Standing Orders, Hansard, books, Sets of Laws of Kenya, Bills, Auditor General Reports and policy papers.

The office block building consists of four basements, 27 floors, six escalators, six lifts, two vehicular and pedestrian tunnels and 350 parking slots. The 6th to 22nd floors of the building will host 330 offices for Members. 

The building will also have two restaurant spaces, a fully equipped kitchen and a gym as well as other social amenities to help MPs execute their mandate.

In line with the government's efforts to embrace green energy, the tower has a rainwater harvesting system and solar water heating panels on the 27th floor.

For persons with disabilities, the building has wheelchair ramps at several access points to facilitate ease of movement.

Audio-Visual System

One of the unique features of Bunge Tower that would entice Kenyans is the audio-visual system which will help Kenyans keep Members of Parliament accountable, particularly those who refuse to respond to phone calls and other distress calls.

Speaking during the opening of the Bunge Tower, Kericho MP Aaron Cheruiyot announced that Bunge Tower has been fitted with internet-enabled audio-visual streaming technology which will help Kenyans see members present in various committees and their contributions.

Cheruiyot indicated that MPs have been refusing to pick up calls and respond to concerns from their constituents because committee sittings were conducted offline.

The new technology will have to compel them to respond to their constituents regarding activities in their constituency.

Watch Senator Cheruiyot explain the feature below: