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This will certainly require significant investment by both government and private sector to meet the needs of the bustling population- especially in transport and housing infrastructure as well as social services such as education and healthcare. To support the anticipated growth in economic activity as well, the city will also need significant investment in retail, office, industrial and residential real estate infrastructure.
Ruparelia Group- Uganda’s largest multi-sector conglomerate through Meera Investments and Speke Group, its real estate development and hospitality arms respectively, has already lined up several projects to meet this demand- for especially high-quality and high-end hospitality, retail, office, industrial and residential real estate.
Meera Investments, started in 1994 and Speke Group of Hotels, in 1996, have each been respective leaders in the business.
For example, Meera is the largest developer of commercial and residential space in Uganda. With over 300 properties in Kampala and surrounding areas, the company is the largest provider of modern and innovative working and living space solutions to over 200,000 people in Kampala daily- 5% of Kampala’s day-time population. Over the last 10, the company has been behind some of Kampala’s iconic projects that have redefined both the city’s skyline as well as real estate markets. These include Kingdom Kampala Mall― a 22,000m2 and 10 floors of Grade A retail and office space as well as the USD10 million Electrical Plaza that is made up of 220 shops, 56 apartments and 2 floors of parking.
In the hospitality space, Speke Group of Hotels which has a total of 13; Resorts, Hotels and Apartments, altogether providing more than 900 modern rooms and 45 State of Art Conference rooms and meetings, award-winning restaurants and bars, health clubs and spas, and recreation and leisure facilities.
The Group, over the last few years, has added some iconic properties to their stable such as the Speke Apartments Wampewo- a collection of 144 modern, tastefully furnished Apartments as well as Speke Apartments, Kitante- 83 equally well-appointed apartments. The group also added Bukoto Heights- 97modern and premium apartments.
The Pearl Business Park
Located on Plot 1, Yusuf Lule Road at the confluence of Old Kiira and Yusuf Lule Roads, The Pearl Business Park- is an 18-acre mixed-use business park, with 10 high-rise office towers, a 5-star hotel, a shopping mall and a modern hospital when complete.
The project was designed by Symbion Uganda Limited, one of the region’s leading multinational architectural firms with over 35 years of heritage in East and Southern Africa.
Phase one of the project started mid, last year with the construction of a 15-storied retail and office block. The block is nearing the 10th floor and is due for completion early next year. property, in Kitante, in the Heart of Kampala.
Known as Tower 1, this block, among others, consists of 15 levels — 2 for parking and 13 of lettable space with a total of 30,000 built-up sqm, out of which 15,000 sqm is lettable. The ground floor has 445sqm of retail/restaurant space and 770sqm of office space. The first floor has 305sqm for retail/restaurant and 1,010 sqm for office. From the 2nd to 11th floor, each of the levels has 1,010 sqm of office space, while the 12th floor has 750sqm of office space and a rooftop terrace.
Kingdom Kampala Hotel
This is a one-of-a-kind hotel, to be built next to the present-day Kampala Kingdom Mall, also owned by the Ruparelia Group. Centrally located, at the confluence of Nile Avenue, Yusuf Lule Road and Dewinton Roads, in the North-East of Kampala’s Central Business District, The hotel, will have a total built-up space amounting to 110,000 square metres.
According to the group, the Kingdom Kampala Hotel shall consist of 220 luxurious rooms/penthouses; 35 conference rooms, as well as 226 luxurious apartments, in the words of Dr Sudhir Ruparelia, the Group’s billionaire Founder and Chairman are “very very high end.”
All plans are finalised and construction will begin in 2023 and completion is slated for 2026.
The hotel is the second phase of the 18-acre development that will also have a second office block, the size of Kingdom Kampala Mall as well as another serviced apartments block.
One-10 Apartments
One-10 Apartments is a high-end development of 156 luxury 2,3 & 4 for-sale apartments in the prime Kololo neighbourhood. apartments, all of them, for sale.
The Group broke ground for the project this March on Prince Charles Drive. It is the group’s largest for-sale luxury homes project. The group recently completely smaller but equally lavish for-sale homes projects- Tagore Living (28 apartments) and Bukoto Living (28 apartments).
With Panoramic views of Kampala, One-10 Apartments is perfectly located in the exclusive suburb of Kololo, the most sought-after hill in Kampala.
The project, described as one-of-a-kind by its developers, offers a total of 156 luxury apartments spread across 15 floors (including 2 basement floors for parking) along Prince Charles Drive in Kololo.
The 156 apartments are split into configurations of one, two, three and four-bedroom apartments. The two-bedroom apartments come in four different sizes i.e., 123 m², 163 m², 169 m² and 170 m² of floor space. The three-bedroom apartments come in 5 variants i.e., 183 m², 194 m², 198 m², 233 m² and 250 m² of floor space. The four-bedroom apartment comes in one variant of 247 m² of space.
Commenting about the project, Rajiv Ruparelia the Ruparelia Group Managing Director said that One-10 Apartments is the most luxurious edition of Meera’s build-to-sell arm, featuring “a prime location, spacious & modern apartment designs and an array of communal areas which include a proposed café and poolside bar, this is the first of its kind in Uganda.”
“We invite prospective owners to embrace the good life at One-10 Apartments. The spacious apartments will have uninterrupted panoramic views of the city and have been specially designed for both comfort and modern living. The finishes have been carefully selected to be durable, aesthetically pleasing and suited for the city’s climate,” he said.
Kabira Serviced Apartments
Meera Investment Limited is constricting 360 high-end serviced apartments at Kabira Country Club.
The project whose construction started in August 2019, has despite interruptions from Covid-19 reached the 10th floor and all work is on course to have it completed early next year, according to the developers, Meera Investments.
Located just next to Kabira Country Club, one of the Ruparelia Group’s major hotels, the apartments project consists of one, two and three-bedroom serviced apartments. Altogether, including two levels of underground parking- the project totals up to 100,000 square metres of built-up space.
At the project’s groundbreaking, in 2019, Dr. Sudhir Ruparelia, told CEO East Africa Magazine that the fully furnished apartments shall be built to British standards.
“They will have a fully fitted modern kitchen, double glazed soundproofed windows, LED flat-screen TVs with customized sets of channels, complimentary high-speed Wi-fi internet, air conditioning, ample parking space and 24-hour security, amongst many other modern amenities,” he said.
He also said that the self-catering apartments were mainly targeted at the corporate, leisure and family travellers’ segments and shall be open to both short and long-term clients.
The project is Uganda’s largest single serviced-apartments project and when complete, will break the Ruparelia Group’s very own record set by the 144 Speke Apartments at Wampewo. Meera Investments, the property development arm of the Group is also Uganda’s largest developer and provider of retail, office, industrial and residential real estate infrastructure.
Speke Resort and Convention Centre
The Ruparelia Group is investing USD100 million into this 350-room project. On completion, it will be the biggest hotel in Entebbe, with a marina for 50 boats, 4 restaurants and a carrying capacity of 3,500 persons. The 5-star facility will also have conference facilities, with the largest hosting up to 1,500 persons, 3 wedding grounds and parking space for 1500 cars.