Sh270m road to ease transport at Mombasa port

Trademark East Africa (TMEA) has inked a deal with Mombasa County to construct a road that will ease congestion at the port. The development agency signed a Sh270 million deal last week with the county for the building of Mbaraki-Nyerere road. The 1....

Trademark East Africa (TMEA) has inked a deal with Mombasa County to construct a road that will ease congestion at the port. The development agency signed a Sh270 million deal last week with the county for the building of Mbaraki-Nyerere road. The 1.2km road is aimed at easing movement of trucks to the Northern Corridor, a trade route which links landlocked countries to the Port of Mombasa. TTMEA is to pump Sh230 million with the county government expected to inject Sh40 million for the project. Ahmed Farah, TMEA Director said with the expected increase in operations at the Mombasa port, the road will help ease pressure of cargo handling.

“The road will make efficient offload of the cargo for the corridor and to the potentially Mombasa Gate Way Bridge whose plans are underway,” said Mr Farah. The decongestion will mainly be at the Mbaraki Wharf area and the adjacent Likoni crossing area which has had perennial traffic snarl-ups due to cargo trucks offloading cargo from oil tankers and clinker ships. Apart from tarmacking the 1.2km stretch, the project will also include a parking bay for the trucks, paths for non-motorised transport, road drainage system and a road solar lighting system.

Currently, the two partners are in the process of securing a contractor for the project. Invitation for tender design and construction of the road has already been done, according to TMEA records. Mombasa County Deputy Governor William Kingi said once the contractor is selected, the project will take eight months to be completed. “We have been in engagement with TMEA for quite some time and we are headed towards the implementation of this project. We are excited for this partnership for the project which will start soon,” said Dr Kingi.

Original Source: Business Daily

[Author:Nairobi]