Bypass set to end ferry chaos at Kenyan Coast

Coast residents whose lives have been severely disrupted by malfunctioning ferries may not have long to wait for a permanent solution. A government plan to build a bypass linking Mombasa Island to the South Coast may come to fruition in three years.

The Dongo Kundu bypass, with a bridge at Miritini, is contained in a 2004 government master plan aimed at opening up the South Coast by improving the road network and increasing tourists visiting the area. It will also improve the road links with Tanzania.

Mr Ngure Mwaniki of MA Consulting Group, whose company was appointed by the Kenya Ports Authority to revise the 2004 port masterplan has told the Daily Nation that the Dongo Kundu project was one of those identified by the government to achieve vision 2030. Besides the bypass, Dongo Kundu will also host a Free Trade Zone.

Experts are of the opinion that only a by-pass will permanently solve the agony of crossing the Likoni channel using ferries, some of which have been breaking down with worrying frequency in the recent past. According to the masterplan, construction work is expected to be completed in 2013.

There are two routes suggested for the bypass. The first would involve building a road from Miritini — about 10 kilometres from the port of Mombasa — which will have two main bridges one at Mwache creek and another at Bombo creek.

The route will cover about eight kilometres between Miritini and the point it joins the Likoni Mainland near the Kenya Navy Base, and has been designed by the Roads Ministry and the World Bank.

The second route does not involve construction of any major bridge and will start from Miritini, along Mombasa-Nairobi highway. This route is supposed to circumvent the Port Reitz creek through Mwache forest to Tsunza, Mtongwe, before connecting with the Likoni-Lunga Lunga road at Shika Adabu which is about 10 kilometres from the Likoni crossing. This route is however longer as it is about 50 kilometres.

For decades now, ferries have been the only major mode of transport for over 200,000 thousand passengers and 3,500 vehicles who cross the channel daily. But the vessels have proved to be a source of great inconvenience to majority of the low-income earners who live on Mombasa mainland and surrounding districts and have to cross the channel every day to look for jobs on the island.

In 1994, an overcrowded ferry capsized at Mtongwe, killing 272 people. Currently, the Likoni channel is served by three vessels, mv Nyayo, mv Kilindini and mv Harambee. But mv Mvita, acquired in 1969, with a capacity of 900 passengers and mv Pwani which was bought in 1974 and plies the Mtongwe channel have been blamed for the frequent near-mishaps at Likoni because of their deteriorating condition.

According to Transport minister Chirau Ali Mwakwere, all the four vessels should have been replaced 20 years ago. Only last weekend, there was a stampede at the channel as passengers had to wade in water to reach the shores. The government has promised to introduce two new vessels, mv Likoni and mv Kwale by March but this is seen as a short term. According to Mr Mwakwere, the new ferries have a capacity to carry 1,500 passengers and 60 cars each.

The tourism industry in the South Coast has been the hardest hit by the crisis, with beach hotels in Diani recording low occupancy levels even during December’s festive season, according to Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers, Coast branch chairman Titus Kangangi.

While hotels on the North Coast were recording between 90 and 100 per cent occupancy, those on the South could barely hit the 50 per cent mark. “While in the past, tourists would flock to Diani for a weekend out, this has changed,” said Mr Kangangi, also general manager of Sunrise Resort, Apartments & Spa.

“Guests have missed flights as a result of delays at the channel forcing travel agents to avoid the destination,” Mr Kangangi said. Last week, at least 150 tourists were stranded and nearly missed their flight. The flight was delayed to wait for the tourists. Vision 2030 identifies Private Public Partnership as the best option for implementing the Dongo Kundu project.

According to the consultants, the Kenya Ports Authority could also sell or lease part of its land to private investors involved in the project.