UGANDA, Wakiso | Real Muloodi News | Nansana Municipality, Wakiso District, has emerged as a real estate hot spot. It has been a popular town for ages, attracting people to live and do business in the ever-expanding town along Hoima Road.
If Nansana was a country, the Masitoowa trading centre would be considered its capital city. Masitoowa, which loosely translates to “Stores,” is the founding trading centre around Nansana.
Irankunda Kristen, a resident of Nansana for over 15 years, loves the convenience of the numerous large grocery stores and shops in the vicinity that provide a one-stop shop for all household needs.
Nansana attracts people from neighbouring areas like Namungoona, Nabweru, and Naluvule, who frequently shop or conduct business there.
The centre’s popularity and the vast number of people it serves have led to the thriving of businesses including banks, retail shops, supermarkets, street food vendors, bars, restaurants, salons, and taxi and boda boda stages, among others.
Nansana is also famous for its bimonthly market days known as Kamubuulo, where traders from different parts of the country gather to sell their merchandise.
Real estate broker Matia Ssezooba, who has lived in Nansana since 1999, believes the place was named after coffee stores that have since been demolished and replaced by a building that houses the Bank of Africa and a Supermarket.
According to John Crizestom Wamala, who was born and raised in the area, Masitoowa got its name from Cash Crop Stores run by Indian traders before they were expelled from Uganda in 1972.
“I was born here and as were my grandparents. My ancestral home is in Nansana East II B Zone formerly called Kitawuluzi,” Wamala says.
The area’s main economic activity was cash crop farming, with locals growing coffee, cotton, and maize, which they sold to Indians who owned stores at Minor Road, connecting to the Kyebando trading centre.
“The locals grew coffee, cotton and maize and all the harvested produce was sold to Indians who owned stores at Minor Road, which connects to Kyebando trading centre. People used to say they are going to Sitoowa za Bayindi which after the expulsion of the Indians simply became Amasitoowa,” he recounts.
After the expulsion of Indians, some residents took over their businesses, while others opened coffee stores opposite the original Indian stores and started trading in cash crops.
Over time, Masitoowa grew into a busy centre attracting people from different villages.
“Like any other business store, Masitoowa started attracting different people from different villages hence its growth into the busy centre you see today,” he says.
Nansana is just a 30-minute drive from the Central Business District, making it close to major employment centres and having fairly developed transport infrastructure.
It has all the makings of a suburb about to explode into a real estate hot spot. The area has many businesses, offering employment opportunities as well as affordable housing.
It has grown into a significant centre for almost all economic activities for Nansana East and West zones. Besides, it is home to Nansana’s nightlife with places like the famous Tex Bar and Club Icon, among others.
Nansana is currently more of a commercial area as most of the original residents sold their land to acquire bigger pieces of land in areas like Namayumba in Wakiso District or partitioned their homes and turned them into rentals and business spaces.
Land in Nansana has no fixed prices, according to real estate developer Ronald Mutesasira of Tabula Property Services.
Landlords usually set prices for their property depending on accessibility. A 100x50ft plot along the main road costs between USh400m and USh500m, while the same size piece of land off the main road costs between USh70m and USh80m.
Mutesasira says that Nansana is in high demand, making it hard to find undeveloped land. What developers are selling now are already-developed properties that they can flip or demolish and rebuild.
The area that was once inhabited by low-income earners has, over the past five years, started embracing middle-income earners, leading to the rapid development of the business centre.
“What we are selling now are already developed properties that developers can flip or totally demolish and build afresh. The area that was inhabited by low income earners has for the past five years started embracing middle income earners hence the rapid development of the business centre,” Mutesasira says.
READ MORE LIKE THIS:
Fort Portal City: A Hot Spot for Land and Property Investment
