KFS Chairman Ramadhan Kajembe, Trapos Ltd Chairman Eustace Mwarania and KFS Managing Director Bakari Gowa
MOMBASA, Kenya, Dec 14 – Kenya Ferry Services has signed a Sh5.8 billion Likoni cable car deal under a concessional arrangement with Trapos Limited.
The car cable service connecting Mombasa island to the South Coast is expected to ease congestion at the Likoni channel and provide a complementary service for thousands that cross the channel every day.
The cable cars have the capacity to transport 5,500 people per hour with passengers paying Sh20 and Sh100 and it will be managed by Likoni Cable Express Limited.
Trapos Limited, the consultants for the public-private partnership project and the Kenya Ferry Services (KFS) said the project will be completed 2 years from the commencement date.
The concession period will last for 25 years, after which the investor is expected to have recovered their cost and hand the project over to the government.
“The agreement will be taken to the cabinet for review before it is approved and we are optimistic the cabinet will approve it,” said Bakari Gowa, KFS Managing Director.
The main station will be on the Island side of the ferry which will have a hotel facility and administration office.
The project financing will be 40 percent equity and 60 percent debt.
Gowa said the cable cars will move 20 percent of the ferry users hence easing congestion on the ferries and boosting tourism in the South Coast.
It is estimated that over 300,000 people and 6,000 vehicles cross the channel every day.
