LCE project need

Mombasa is the second-largest city in Kenya, with a population of over one-million residents. A regional cultural and economic hub, the city has a large port and an international airport and is an important regional tourism centre. Mombasa Island itself may not be the main tourism attraction, other tourists locations are in the north and south of Mombasa. The city continues to grow rapidly primarily fuelled by migration due to economic activities. While relatively well connected to the North and West through car bridges, the city’s sole connection to the South is a ferry service. Every day, 300,000+ commuters travel between Likoni on the mainland and Mombasa island causing significant congestions in the peak travelling hours.

Current challenges

The ferry service is a critical part of the city’s transport system but is also faced with a number of challenges including: Pressure is exerted to the existing resources especially during peak times which may result to lost man hours. During these times, long vehicle queues may be experienced;While the landing ramps have been expanded, the existing roads connecting to the ramps (ramp approaches) remain narrow making traffic management capability limits the number of ferries that can load and offload simultaneously; Ships entering and leaving the port of Mombasa create logistical challenges by disrupting Ferry movements across the channel;Over the years, both human and vehicle traffic using the Ferry service have been increasing exponentially. This has continued to exert pressure on the existing resources.

Future outlook

Mombasa being a key region of Kenya continues to attract additional key investments. There are plans to upgrade the area by:

• Expansion of the Mombasa port it is expected to increase cargo volume by 400 per cent from the current 20 million tons handled at the facility annually;
• Creation of a Vision 2030 Special Economic Zone Mombasa modelled on Shenzen will have about 9 million people working and living in the zone;
• One of the Resort cities under vision 2030 will be in South Coast as a part of government efforts to double the tourist arrivals to three million visitors annually;
• Under Vision 2030 Second Medium Term (2013-1017) deliverables in the area of Improvement of Shipping and Maritime facilities (section 3.1.3), modernization of ferry services to increase passenger capacity is explicitly mentioned. The Likoni Cable Express may be considered as part realization of that aspect of the Vision.