Construction of Sh 390m ramp for Mtongwe ferry in Mombasa County has resumed. This is after residents welcomed the project. Construction works which started in October was halted after residents blocked claiming the contractor went to the site without engaging them.
“We didn’t know what was happening and we had to protect our livelihoods. We depend on this seashore to feed ourselves and families. There are at least 400 people who directly depend on the Mtongwe landing site for their livelihoods including fishermen, boat owners, a group of rescue divers, small scale traders, among others,” explained Mtongwe Beach Management Unit chairman Suleiman Mwinyi.
Permanent solution to the Mtongwe ferry crossing channel
According to the Project manager Hillary Nyaanga, the ramp will be 40 metres wide and 70 metres long. About three quarters of the ramp’s length will be in the water. The berth metrics design or technical site investigation is ongoing. An environmental and social impact assessments are also currently underway and the results will inform the action to take to address the plight of those who will be affected by the construction of the ramp.
Permanent works will include removing of the debris at the sea level, clearing the path for the ramp. Some sections will have minor piling of circular pipes which shall contain the platform or the foundation for the ramp. The whole project is to take a year and six months.
“Then we will do the sheet piling to protect whatever materials that shall be brought so that when we do the filling and the pre-cast ramp they will be contained,” said Nyaanga, who is the chief structural engineer at the State Department for Public Works.
Upon completion the ramp is expected to provide a permanent solution to the Mtongwe ferry crossing channel, which still uses jetties mounted on pontoons that keep breaking down and disrupting operations of the ferry.
