The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) has revived plans to develop its 1,000-acre land in Mavoko, Machakos County into a mixed use city.
The state-controlled pension fund in June called for proposals by developers to carry out a feasibility study, develop a master plan and put up infrastructure and a pilot phase at the land under what is known as an engineering, procurement, construction and finance (EPC+F) contract.
The tender for the proposals closes on August 18, having been opened in June and extended from the original closing date of July 17.
“The project location at Katani area of Mavoko sub-county in Machakos county and the 1,000-acre or thereabout land size offers the NSSF and the EPC+F partner the opportunity to undertake a city development that would be a landmark decentralised live-work-play node for Nairobi City,” said the NSSF in the tender document for the proposals.
“Development options may cover all property sectors including residential, commercial, light industrial, institutional, specialised warehousing, hospitality, etc as well as other specialised uses.”
The NSSF declined to offer further details on the proposed development, citing the ongoing tender process that will among other things determine the cost and scope of the venture.
NSSF has been trying to develop the Mavoko land for nearly 15 years, having initially proposed to construct 30,000 housing units on the property in 2012 under a joint venture with private developers. The housing project was tagged a flagship Vision 2030 project.
The project was however cancelled in 2013 by the labour ministry shortly after the sacking of the then NSSF managing trustee Tom Odongo under unclear circumstances.
In 2015, the fund revived the plans to develop the land with a proposal to put up 60,000 low-cost houses, also under a joint venture arrangement.
This new plan however flopped after opposition from trade unions which complained about an opaque tendering process for the joint venture partners, and questions of whether the NSSF would afford to pay its share of the project cost.
MPs also questioned the economic viability of the plan, saying that it risked exposing workers to losses.
In 2015, the price of an acre of land in the Syokimau area stood at Sh17.2 million, as per estimates published by real estate firm HassConsult in its periodic land indices, valuing the NSSF land at Sh17.2 billion.
Today, the price of land in the area has gone up to Sh39.4 million per acre, raising the estimated value of the land above Sh39 billion at current market rates.
The renewed effort to put up housing and other developments on the land comes when workers contributions to the fund have gone up following the implementation of the NSSF Act 2013 in February 2023 after a decade long court battle.
The new rates kicked in with an increase of a member’s ceiling contribution from Sh200 per month to Sh1,080—matched by the employer— in the first year. In the second year, starting February 2024, the rate was raised to Sh2,160, before going up again to Sh4,320 starting February 2025.
This year, the contribution cap rose to Sh6,480 per month, and will finally go up to Sh8,640 per month in February 2027.
In December 2025, NSSF’s assets under management stood at Sh623.8 billion, having grown from Sh308.3 billion in June 2023 courtesy of the enhanced contributions.
Immovable property investments were valued at Sh38.08 billion, or 6.1 percent of the fund’s total assets, with government securities the biggest asset at Sh379.9 billion or 60 percent of the fund assets.
Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA) rules cap property exposure for pension funds at 30 percent of total assets, behind guaranteed funds (100 percent), Treasury bonds (90 percent) and listed equities at 70 percent.
