The United Nations on Monday launched a major expansion of its Nairobi headquarters, with Secretary-General António Guterres and Kenyan President William Ruto marking what officials described as a significant milestone for the Organization’s presence in Africa.
The ceremony included the inauguration of new office buildings and the groundbreaking of a new conference facility at the UN Office at Nairobi (UNON), which will substantially expand the Organization’s footprint in Africa.
Approved by the UN General Assembly, the $340 million project is the largest investment undertaken by the UN Secretariat in Africa in its 80-year history, strengthening Nairobi’s role as a global centre for diplomacy and multilateral cooperation.
“These are more than buildings,” the Secretary-General said during a press encounter. “They are a vote of confidence in Africa’s place at the heart of international cooperation.“
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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 expanded meeting facilities.
Mr. Guterres said the expansion reflects the UN’s broader efforts to bring its work closer to the 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,” he said.
UN Nairobi/Julius Mwelu 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 United Nations headquarters in Africa – and in the Global South.”
From its beginnings in the 1970s as the home of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), the Gigiri complex has grown into one of the UN’s largest operational hubs, supporting activities across Africa and beyond. The campus now hosts more than 70 UN offices and programmes and thousands of staff.
Mr. Guterres praised Kenya’s longstanding support to the Organization, noting that the Gigiri campus stands on land donated by the Kenyan Government.
“This complex could not be possible without the enormous generosity and hospitality of the government and people of Kenya,” he said.
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Sustainability and accessibility
The newly inaugurated 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 close to energy neutrality by 2030.
The project also includes the planting of nearly 6,000 indigenous trees and universal accessibility features integrated throughout the campus.
Calls for global reform
Beyond the infrastructure project, the Secretary-General used the occasion to renew calls for reforms to international governance and financial systems, arguing that Africa continues to face structural inequalities rooted in history.
“We live in a situation that is deeply unfair,” he said, pointing to the high borrowing costs faced by many African countries despite strong economic potential.
Mr. Guterres also reiterated his longstanding 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 will be permanent African members in the Security Council,” he said.
Africa a driver of solutions
He argued that many global institutions were created in 1945 without African participation and continue to reflect outdated power structures.
“Africa is a driver of solutions, a source of innovation, and a voice of moral clarity,” he said, adding that the continent’s potential is being constrained by “a deeply unequal international system that reflects last century’s power relations.”