Photo/FILE Motorists at Jomvu on the Mombasa-Nairobi Highway. This damaged section has been a nightmare for motorists who spend hours on end in traffic jams.



Treasury has secured a Sh30 billion loan from Japan to build the Dongo Kundu bypass that will help speed up traffic in Mombasa town.
The project, dubbed the “Mombasa Port Area Development Project” is designed to eliminate congestion on the Makupa Causeway, Nyali Bridge and the Likoni Ferry.
The first phase will be a 17.5-kilometre bypass from Miritini, west of Moi International Airport, through the proposed Dongo Kundu Port on the south to Vumirirani on the A14 Coast Road.
The second phase will be the re-carpeting of link roads in the North Coast and Mombasa island.
“The project will significantly decongest the city of Mombasa by providing alternative options to the Likoni ferry by linking the mainland to the South Coast… and complement the ongoing expansion of the Mombasa port, which will greatly benefit the tourism sector,” said Finance minister Njeru Githae during the signing ceremony at the Treasury Building in Nairobi on Tuesday.
Japan’s ambassador to Kenya Toshihisa Takata said the project would open up the coastal town to more investors and solve the perennial traffic crisis that costs the island billions of shillings in lost business hours every year.
Ocean bridges
“Development of the Mombasa Port is critical for the coastal region and for Kenya to realise its long-term plan of the Vision 2030. It is also important for the East Africa Community and the countries that rely on it for exports and imports,” Mr Takata said.
Mr Githae disclosed that the World Bank had approved a Sh25 billion loan for the construction of a bypass from the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to James Gichuru Road in Nairobi.
Roads minister Franklin Bett said the Mombasa project was expensive since it would involve building bridges across the ocean.
He added that the Kenya National Highways Authority will compensate more than 600 families that will be displaced by the project.
“We also urge members of the Mombasa Republican Council (MRC) to cooperate in the implementation of this project since it will open the area for other economic developments,” said Mr Bett.
Mr Githae dismissed claims by MRC that the government had neglected the Coast, noting the new project was one of the largest undertaken by the government this year.
Mr Githae thanked the Japanese government for the support, saying the Far East nation was funding projects worth Sh419 billion in the country.