The government has approved the 4.1 billion shillings Likoni Cable Car project through a Build Own Operate Transfer partnership.
The project being undertaken through a joint venture between Kenyan investors and an Austrian company is expected to ease the movement of passengers between Mombasa Island and the mainland.
Once complete, the cable car will have capacity to ferry eleven thousand passengers per hour in both directions.
The half a kilometer Likoni Channel has been the only link between Mombasa Island and the mainland ferrying thousands of passengers using four ferries namely MV Jambo, MV Likoni, MV Harambee, and MV Nyayo.
The four ferries are prone to frequent breakdowns hampering economic development at the coast.
Various proposals have been floated to ease congestion at the channel but none has ever been implemented.
However, a solution appears to be in the offing. On Tuesday Cabinet approved the construction of the 4.1 billion shillings Likoni express cable car through a public private partnership between the Kenya Ferry Services, an Austrian company and Kenyan investors.
The project is expected to take two years to complete and will ferry an estimated 180,000 people daily.
The four ferries are used by around 300 thousand people and around 10 thousand vehicles daily. Already Kenya Ferry Services has signed an agreement with Trapos Africa for the construction of the Likoni cable car project.
The project will be supervised by Austrian technology company, Doppelmayr Group which will provide the cars and ropes according to the agreement.
Passengers will be charged a fee by the operator to use the services which will take a maximum of two minutes to cross the channel.
-kahawatungu.com
