Gov’t to Build Sh46 Billion Cable-Supported Bridge Linking Likoni to Mombasa Mainland

The government has secured Sh82.7 billion that will be used to construct a bridge connecting Likoni and the Mombasa Mainland among other projects.

Kenya is in the process of identifying a contractor for the project that is fully funded by the Japanese government through a loan and grant.

The construction of the 1.4-kilometer and 69 meters high bridge is expected to kick off in 2021 and will provide a solution to the constant challenges facing residents and motorists commuting between the South Coast and Mombasa mainland.

The building of the cable-supported bridge will start at Lumumba road in Majengo and terminate at Moi Avenue along Archbishop Makarios Road.

Currently, about 300,000 passengers and more than 6,000 cars use the Likoni channel ferries to and from the Mombasa mainland.

“Kenya and Japan have had a long-standing relationship spanning from 1963. We will continue to foster this going forward and help one another in the various ways we can….,” said Japanese ambassador to Kenya Ryoichi Horie while speaking at the signing ceremony at the Treasury in Nairobi.

The financing deal was approved in August when President Kenyatta attended the 7th Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Yokohama, Japan.

Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yattani said Sh46.6 billion of the loan credit will be used to build the bridge while the remaining will be spent on the development of Dongo Kundu Special Economic Zone with aim of boosting the manufacturing sector.