The Kenya Investment Authority is wooing foreign investors and Kenyans living abroad to pump their money into the country's lucrative real estate sector.

The state-owned investment promotion agency is one of the participants - including individuals from Kenya - at the first Sub-Saharan Africa Property Investment Summit (SAPIS 2013), which is being held in London today.

KenInvest says an increase in population and growing demand for affordable housing has created opportunities in residential, commercial and industrial buildings, including prefabricated low-cost housing.

"Investors can also manufacture and supply construction materials and components for the sector," it states on its website.

KenInvest's acting general manager (investment promotion) Paul Rotich was not immediately available for comment on how much of foreign direct investments and diaspora remittance is channelled into real estate.

Among the real estate and construction opportunities the agency has been promoting include a proposed hotel at Bomas of Kenya which showcases Kenya's cultural diversity. The new 200-bed hotel will target tourists and will sit on part of the 83 acres at Bomas.

"The initial feasibility study was for a 100-bed hotel, which would cost approximately $5 million (Sh435 million). The project would include a conference centre, swimming pool and other amenities. However, the project sponsor has since revised the capacity of the proposed hotel to 200 beds," KenInvest says in one of its posts.

The agency says investors can also participate in major infrastructure projects such as road construction and rehabilitation, development of the Sh2 trillion Lamu Port, rehabilitation of airports, Konza ICT Park and construction of resort cities in Isiolo, Lamu, Diani, Kilifi and Lokichoggio.

Real estate has become lucrative as demand for residential, office, retail and industrial space outstrips supply despite a decade of investments. The gap has attracted individuals and institutional private equity investors eyeing double-digit returns from the sector.