Relief for Mtongwe residents as ferry services set to resume
What you need to know:
- Some 30,000 passengers are expected to use the ferry daily.
- Ferry services at Mtongwe were halted in 2012 when the government decommissioned two old ferries that were considered unseaworthy.
- Dilapidated infrastructure also caused the withdrawal of services.
Ferry services at the Mtongwe crossing channel in Mombasa will resume on Friday.
This will come as a relief for thousands of residents, who have been without the services since 2012.
The Kenya Ferry Services (KFS) has been refurbishing the Mtongwe berth, with the renovations costing Sh6 million.
KFS Managing Director Bakari Gowa said one of the five ferries at the Likoni channel will be deployed to Mtongwe.
“Either MV Likoni or MV Kwale will (serve at Mtongwe).
“We will be taking the ferry during peak hours for a start and, based on the response or demand [from] people, we may consider [using] the ferry for a [whole] day,” Mr Gowa told the Nation on Tuesday.
DECONGEST LIKONI
Some 30,000 passengers are expected to use the ferry daily.
He said the revival of the Mtongwe crossing is part of efforts to decongest Likoni and boost the local economy.
“We understand that people from Mtongwe have been affected by the suspension of services at this channel and that is why we believe restoring it will impact (positively) on [their] economic activities,” said Mr Gowa.
Ferry services at Mtongwe were halted in 2012 when the government decommissioned two old ferries that were considered unseaworthy.
Dilapidated infrastructure also caused the withdrawal of services.
In 1994 more than 270 people died in a ferry disaster at Mtongwe in one of Kenya’s worst maritime disasters.
The withdrawal of the vessels has put pressure on the Likoni channel, leading to congestion.
Mtongwe residents also complained that the lack of ferry services had led to a drop in the value of their land and (rental) houses.
