Stakeholders in water transport in Lamu have questioned the delayed completion of the Mokowe customs jetty, which has been under reconstruction at a cost of Sh599 million.
The project is being undertaken by the national government since 2019 and was supposed to have been done by February last year.
A year later, not much ground has been covered, a situation that has created congestion and complicated water transport in the region.
Jetties are a crucial element of Lamu’s water transport system as they are the main entry and exit points for passengers and cargo coming to Lamu town and adjacent islands.
The Mokowe jetty is the largest in the region and is the only exit and entry point to and from Lamu island and other adjacent islands from the mainland.
Lamu Boat Users association chairperson Hassan Awadh said it had become difficult for both boat operators and passengers to use the incomplete jetty as it has proved dangerous.
“We struggle to park our boats and passengers struggle to disembark because of the lack of a jetty which would have aided that. It’s taking too long but they need to know we can’t really do water transport here without it,” Awadh said.
Speaking on Tuesday however, Chief Structural Engineer in the State Department of Public Works Hillary Nyaanga blamed the delay on the Covid-19 pandemic which he said slowed down the pace of work on the jetty as they strived to stay in line with health regulations.
He however said the construction works are 70 per cent complete and that the finished facility would be ready in a few months’ time.
“We went off schedule a bit because of the Covid-19 but we are back on the ground and works are on. The pace is okay and we hope to deliver the complete Mokowe customs jetty soon,” Nyaanga said.
Upon completion, the Mokowe Customs Jetty will have a large waiting bay and a mini-petrol station and will equally include specially designed ramps to accommodate movement by the physically challenged people.
Apart from the Mokowe jetty, the government has so far undertaken and completed construction of three other key jetties in the region that had been structurally unsound for years.
They are the Mtangawanda Jetty which cost Sh72 million, the Manda Airport Jetty which cost Sh48 million and the Lamu Mangrove Terminal Jetty which cost Sh35 million.
The government has previously announced plans to construct a new jetty at the Lamu King Fahad County Hospital to ease movement of personnel and patients coming in and out of the facility.
-Edited by SKanyara
