The National Museums of Kenya has unveiled plans for the construction of a new storage facility to accommodate its rich collection, which goes back over 100 years.

The construction started in September.

The seven-story National Collection Centre will be built at the institution’s 500-acre plot in Karen, Nairobi, and will provide sufficient storage capacity for the next 25 years for both current and new collections.

The government has committed $10.7 million to be disbursed in three tranches that begun with the 2016/2017 financial year in which NMK got $1.07 million for design and tendering purposes. The other tranches, of $3.9 million and $5.8 million, will be released in the next two years.

NMK officials told The EastAfrican that the new facility is a major relief for an institution that started collecting artefacts and documents in 1910 and has one of the best fossil collection in the world, but one which has been in unsuitable storage for the past 20 years, compromising both its conservation and presentation.  

“It is as if the museum has been born again. Despite NMK having one of the richest fossil collection in the world with unparalleled world significance, we have been lacking modern facilities for the research scientists who visit us from over the world,” said Dr Mzalendo Kibunjia, the director-general of the Museum.

Designed by Archplan & Associates, the new complex will include four floors underground and three floors above ground in conformity with modern museum storage facilities all over the world.

Currently, the NMK collections are stored in three buildings within its complex next to Nairobi city centre. Some of them are stored directly on concrete floors, which affects their durability.

Dr Kibunjia says that lack of funds in the past decade due to limited budgetary allocations by the government and dwindling tourism sector earnings that used to supplement NMK’s finances, has greatly compromised the institutions’ key mandate of safeguarding the cultural and historical heritage of the country and hampered efforts to present it to the rest of the world in the best way possible.

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NMK is mandated with ensuring that collections are stored in a safe and secure environment that is pest-free and conserved using appropriate techniques; safekeeping of collections records and their maintenance in good and updated condition; co-ordinating development and maintenance of electronic data storage of all NMK collections, and establishing a system of ready retrieval and dispatch of information.

“The collection was in danger of being destroyed because of inadequate conservation measures and storage in the past five years. We had appealed to the government for a rescue package of $8.5 million to save the country’s rich collection from permanent ruin. We are relieved that the government is responding positively,” said Dr Kibunjia.

In addition to funding the National Collection Centre, NMK in the 2016/2017 budget got $8.4 million for operations and $5.8 million for development projects.

The institution has also written to the government requesting exemption from value added tax and other taxes on shipment of artefacts, collections and any other cultural materials that were illegally transported from Kenya before Independence but which are now being shipped back.

The National Collection being held by the Museums — though originating from various counties — will remain national treasures although they can be loaned to those who want to exhibit them locally in the counties.

The collection includes various archaeological finds and specimens such as the Turkana Boy and various cultural artefacts from all the country’s 42 ethnic groups, collected since NMK was established in 1910.