Approved by the UN General Assembly, the $340 million project is the largest investment by the UN Secretariat in Africa in its 80-year history, strengthening Nairobi’s role as a global center for diplomacy and multilateral cooperation.
“These are more than buildings,“said the Secretary General during a meeting with the press. “They are a vote of confidence in Africa’s place at the center of international cooperation.“
A UN closer to the people it serves
The project will increase conference capacity at UNON from 2,000 to 9,000 participants, including through the construction of a new assembly hall and the expansion of meeting facilities.
Guterres said the expansion reflects the UN’s broader efforts to bring its work closer to regions most affected by global challenges.
“The United Nations must be closer to the people it serves, connected to their realities and equipped to support the solutions they are building.” said.
UN Secretary General, António Guterres.
A pillar in the Global South
In his formal remarks, the Secretary-General described Nairobi as “neither a satellite nor an outpost”, but “a pillar – the only headquarters of the United Nations in Africa – and in the Global South”.
Since its beginnings in the 1970s as the headquarters of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat), the Gigiri complex has grown to become one of the United Nations’ largest operational centres, supporting activities across Africa and beyond. The campus is now home to more than 70 United Nations offices and programs and thousands of employees.
Mr. Guterres praised Kenya’s long-standing support for the Organization, noting that the Gigiri campus is located on land donated by the Government of Kenya.
“This resort could not be possible without the enormous generosity and hospitality of the government and people of Kenya,” he said.
Sustainability and accessibility
The newly opened office buildings are UNON’s first net zero facilities, powered year-round by on-site solar energy. Additional solar installations linked to the conference expansion are expected to bring the complex closer to energy neutrality by 2030.
The project also includes the planting of almost 6,000 native trees and universal accessibility elements integrated throughout the campus.
Calls for global reform
Beyond the infrastructure project, the Secretary-General used the occasion to renew calls to reform international governance and financial systems, arguing that Africa continues to face structural inequalities rooted in history.
“We live in a deeply unfair situation,” he said, pointing out the high borrowing costs many African countries face despite their strong economic potential.
Guterres also reiterated his long-standing call for permanent African representation on the UN Security Council and greater influence for African countries within international financial institutions.
“There will be no justice before there are permanent African members of the Security Council,” said.
Africa, an engine of solutions
He argued that many global institutions were created in 1945 without African participation and continue to reflect outdated power structures.
“Africa is an engine of solutions, a source of innovation and a voice of moral clarity,” he said, adding that the continent’s potential is being limited by “a deeply unequal international system that reflects the power relations of the last century.”