(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Work on a $50m university being built by a Qatari charity in Kenya is progressing well, officials have said.
A Qatari delegation, led by Sheikh Dr Khalid bin Thani Al Thani, Deputy Board Chairman of Sheikh Thani bin Abdullah Al Thani Foundation for Humanitarian Services (RAF) and Honorary Chairman of RAF International University, visited the project in the capital Nairobi. The delegation included Ibrahim bin Mohammed Abdullah, Qatar's Ambassador, and members of Qatari Business Association.
Sheikh Dr Al Thani said RAF International University was among their plans to develop education in Kenya and Africa and build a vibrant and skilled community. He said last June the university had graduated 34 students from different fields and they had gone forward for placements in Kenya's education market while others applied to pursue higher education.
He said the reason for the delegation's visit was to ascertain how the work on the university's first phase was progressing. He said the first phase entailed construction of four colleges which were expected to be ready by the end of next year.
Dr Ayed Al Qahtani, Director-General, RAF, thanked Sheikh Dr Al Thani for his patronage of the university project.
He said once the first phase is completed, the university would be able to accommodate 1,200 male and female students and the completion of the second phase will accommodate 4,000 students and the third 10,000 students. The university is expected to be fully ready in 2018 with 11 colleges.
Dr Al Qahtani said there were several university and school projects being undertaken by RAF in Africa, including Badr University in Somalia, RAF College in Sudan and Sahel University in Mali to provide education to millions of poor and needy students all over the world with the support of RAF and Qatari citizens.
He said the university would sign a partnership agreement with the Kenyan telecommunication, Safaricom, which is also the representative of Vodafone in Kenya and the deal would be for logistics and technical support in building the university.
Ibrahim Ali Abdullah, Director, Department of Marketing and Media, RAF, said the board had decided to build a nursing college in the first phase at the university to meet the need for skilled nurses. He said the board had opened up doors for Qatari people to support different projects at the university such as a mosque and university offices.
RAF International University was established in 2010 to provide education for African people and equip them with skills to enable them to build their countries and communities. The university is spread over 140,000 square feet.
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