The Kenya International Conference Centre (KICC) has unveiled a KSh 100 million dancing fountain in a display of innovation and ambition.
The new piece of technology is aimed at positioning Nairobi as a premier tourist destination in Africa. This new attraction is designed to rival iconic water shows like those at Dubai’s Burj Khalifa. Burj Kahlifa’s iconic fountain is the world’s largest, shooting water to an impressive 152 meters, synchronising it with light and music.
Geofrey Thande, Director of Business Development at KICC, expressed enthusiasm for the project.
“We are very excited. This is the one of a kind in the continent of Africa. The other dancing fountains that we have are at the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. That is what we’re bringing here in Kenya at KICC,” Thande started.
He explained that the fountain plays a strategic role in the Meetings, Incentives, Conferencing, and Exhibitions (MICE) sector.
Thande elaborated: “The reason we’re doing this is because we’re in the business of MICE. And when we have delegates coming here for meetings or exhibitions, what else can they do? What other things can they enjoy in our Kenyan market? So we feel like, apart from the tourist products like the National Park, Nairobi City is the only city with a National Park next to the city. They can enjoy that and many other things.”
Best Real Estate company? Inside AMCCO’s impactful social development, CSR initiatives
Thande emphasized that the dancing fountain is more than just a spectacle; it adds significant value to the industry. He said, “We thought adding the Dancing Fountains will continue to enhance and broaden what delegates can enjoy. So if a delegate comes for a meeting, what are they doing before, during and after? We believe these dancing fountains will be critical in being a game changer for Kenya, KICC and MICE and also tourism.”
Eng Robert Ochieng, Technical Services Manager at KICC, detailed the technological advancements of the new fountain. He noted that KICC had an older fountain installed in 1973, which simply sprayed water into the air.
“However, with the advancement in technology and age, we decided in 2023 to upgrade the fountains to world-class standards,” Ochieng explained.
He further stated that the dancing fountain idea was born on the fact that KICC needed to attract more people, and also to tap on the latest technology.
“The difference between the system we have now and the previous one is that this one is based on computer, robotics, and artificial intelligence. It’s able to create different patterns of water spray jets in the air, and at the same time, is able to produce different color lights so that the clients are able to move with the theme.”
Ochieng contrasted the old and new systems, highlighting the sustainability improvements. The old fountains, he explained, used to get dirty very quickly and used close to a million liters of water, which had to be discarded, a system that was not sustainable.
“But with the new fountains that we’ve installed, we shall be able to use the water for six months, only doing small top-up to cover for evaporation losses.”
He also mentioned apart from that, KICC was going to install computerized robot cleaning machines that will be moving on the bottom of the fountains, doing all the cleanings.
“Looking on sustainability, we’re going to connect the fountains to our solar plant. We have a 200 kVA solar plant installed, and so we’re going to use the output of that solar plant to drive the facilities here,” stated Ochieng, who observed that the fountain needed a lot of power to be able to run effectively.
Ochieng concluded by stating that the system was imported, the latest model, adding that supplier will be around for the next year as KICC runs the system.
In 2024, Kenya Airways opened the Asante Executive Hub at KICC. The center provides tailored travel solutions for government and private sector executives.
Other notable dancing fountains in the world are: Bellagio Fountains (Las Vegas, USA), Magic Fountain of Montjuïc (Barcelona, Spain), Banpo Bridge Rainbow Fountain (Seoul, South Korea) and Fountain of Wealth (Singapore).
