Dongo Kundu project design ready, construction to take 38 months

The final detailed design report of Mombasa’s Special Economic Zone  development project at Dongo Kundu is ready.

Last week, the Kenya Ports Authority technical committee and Nippon Koei Engineering Consultants completed the raft of documents specifying the look and feel of the multibillion-shilling port sub-project.

Nippon Koei team leader Hiroyuki Takakaze said the project’s detailed designs, which include the preparation of the draft bidding documents and cost estimates, will be released at the end of June.

This will be followed by the crucial stage of tender assistance and contractor selection, scheduled to start in July 2022, a process that is estimated to go on for one year.

President Uhuru Kenyatta is expected to visit Mombasa before his term ends in August for the ground-breaking ceremony of the project.

According to Takakaze, who is also the deputy general manager at the consulting firm headquarters in Japan, the actual civil and building works for the port sub-project will take 38 months to be completed.

“The works entail development of a port facility (multi-purpose berth) of 300 meters quay length, a trestle of 450m in length and minus 15-metre draft,” he said.

It will also have a container and vehicle yard with a capacity of 1,830 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (containers) and 2,000 vehicular units.

Also, in the plan are buildings and dredging of navigational channels.

Besides the civil and building works, there will also be a cargo handling equipment package that shall see the supply of mobile harbour cranes, forklifts, reach stackers, tractors and trailer chassis.

The other components in the larger project include construction of the 4.6km access road connecting the Port to the Mombasa southern bypass road.

The road will be done by the Kenya National Highway Authority that is estimated to take 28 months.

Last Thursday, KPA signed a grant aid with the Japanese International Cooperation Agency for the development of the Dongo Kundu Special Economic Zone project.

KPA acting managing director ambassador John Mwangemi received the Jica officials led by Naota Mukai at the Port of Mombasa, where they signed the agreement.

“Mombasa Special Economic Zone Development project at Dongo Kundu is one of the Vision 2030 flagship projects,” Mwangemi said.

The land on which the SEZ project will sit was acquired by KPA in 1978. It was earmarked for the development of a Special Economic Zone, Free Port Facility, and supporting infrastructure.

In April, KPA commenced the resettlement plan for the 1,648 families that will be affected by the multi-billion shilling Mombasa Special Economic Zone.

The project affected persons will be resettled on a 357-acre of land, which is part of the 3,000 acres owned by KPA in the Mtongwe area.

KPA met with the elected leaders from the Likoni constituency and unanimously supported the Resettlement Action Plan for the Dongo Kundu residents. 

The consultative meetings were held at ACK Likoni.

Those to be compensated are from Dongo Kundu, Mwangala, Mrongondoni, Kaya Mtongwe, Mbuta, and Siji villages within the Likoni constituency.

The resettlement action plan also has a compensation component for potential displacement impact on structures totalling 2,585.

They include; residential, commercial, non-residential and agricultural, religious, institutional, educational, cultural, and security buildings as well as water-related structures.

The project is expected to create over 10,000 employment opportunities for Mombasa residents once completed.

The project affected persons were identified in a Strategic Environmental Assessment of 2014, according to KPA management.

KPA developed the compensation framework with the support of the Jica, following the recommendation of the National Land Commission that the government identifies a solution to the land issues.

The compensation policy was submitted to and approved by the Cabinet.

-Edited by SKanyara