President William Ruto has officially opened the 28-storey Bunge Tower amid the controversies surrounding the building.
The building, conceived in 2019, will have office spaces for MPs and Senators and also accommodate the increased Bicameral Parliament of 349 MPs and 67 Senators.
According to the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC), Bunge Tower's design was inspired by the Shield emblem of Parliament.
"The shield, with its intricate design, has been a symbol of protection and unity for centuries in Kenyan culture. It represents strength, resilience, and the collective identity of diverse communities coming together under one banner for the greater good," PSC says.
Inside Bunge Tower
Bunge Tower will have a total of 331 dedicated offices for members of both Houses of Parliament and 26 committee rooms.
The 26 committee rooms are hosted on the first, second, third and fifth floors and are fitted with advanced audio-visual and conference management systems.
"In addition, four committee rooms will be fitted with cutting-edge video conference facilities to enable remote presentation of evidence to committees," PSC says.
"The first floor houses the ultra-modern Parliament Library which was established in 1910. The library is equipped with a vast collection of 50,000 documents, reports, Standing Orders, books, Hansard, Sets of Laws of Kenya, Bills, Acts of Parliament, Auditor General Reports and Policy papers."
The Parliament Library provides real-time access to parliamentary information and a varied collection of e-journals.
The office block building comprises four basements, twenty-seven floors, two vehicular and pedestrian tunnels and an access building in the main parliament.
"The first, second and third basements have the parking, stores and offices. The Tower provides a total of 350 parking slots. The pedestrian tunnel will link the building to the main parliament," PSC adds.
The sixth to 22nd floors of the building will host 331 offices for MPs and Senators.
Bunge Tower has designated two restaurant spaces and a fully equipped kitchen and a gym.
The Tower incorporates a rainwater harvesting system with a 184,000 litres capacity, alongside solar water heating panels on the 27th floor.
The Tower has six main lifts; one goods lift, four lifts serving the committee room floors, two lifts serving the main parliament and 6 escalators serving the ground floor up to the third Floor.
There is also vehicular and pedestrian tunnels linking the building to the main parliament.
"To address the needs of people with disabilities, the building has put in place wheelchair ramps at the access points to facilitate movement of people with disabilities," PSC adds.
