Construction of Sh85 billion Mombasa Gate Bridge to kick off after years of delay

The long-delayed construction of the Mombasa Gate Bridge, which will connect Mombasa Island to the South Coast, is finally set to commence in 2024, after more than two years.

The bridge, which will cost Sh85 billion, is set to reduce traffic congestion by replacing the ferry service initiated in 1937 and the 824-metre Liwatoni Floating Bridge built in 2020.

The Mombasa Gate Bridge project was supposed to start in June 2021 and be completed and opened by June 2024, according to the Mombasa Gate Bridge City Masterplan.

However, failure by stakeholders to agree on the compensation and resettlement of building owners and residents who will be affected by the project held back the project.

In December 2019, Kenya and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed a loan deal that would see Japan lend Kenya Sh47 billion for the development of the bridge.

A feasibility study by JICA revealed that the 13.2km Mombasa Gate Bridge project will displace 1,706 households which occupy 725 plots all totaling 62.6 hectares of land.

According to the JICA feasibility study, Likoni and Shika Adabu alone account for 73.8 per cent of the plots that will be affected and 76.8 per cent of the total land set to be acquired.

The mega project is also expected to impact the livelihoods of about 500 fishermen with a whopping Sh9.4 billion expected to be spent to compensate all the affected households.

The bridge project will see a cable stayed bridge erected to support four lanes, which will be elevated 69 metres at the mid-section to allow ships to pass into and out of Kilindini harbor.

The bridge will have three spans reinforced by four piers on the Mombasa Island and Likoni sides with the 660-metre long main span supported by two piers mounted at the shallow seashore on Mombasa side and in front of the Zanzibar Palace Ruins on the Likoni side.

The masterplan shows that the side spans will be 330 metres long and will be anchored on two extra piers on each side.

The Mombasa Gate Bridge will start near King’orani Prison on Lumumba Road and rise above the Mombasa Railway Station and Moi Avenue to the west of Canon Towers.

The bridge will then cross Archbishop Makarios Road to Ganjoni, turn right above Liwatoni and cross over the Likoni Channel into the Likoni side at the Sultan of Zanzibar Place ruins.

The engineering marvel will then proceed along Mweza creek on the eastern shoreline before it descends and touches down close to the Jamvi la Wageni Primary School.

The bridge will then continue its four lanes and cross Mtongwe Road near the Post Office and link to the Mombasa Southern Bypass at Ziwani on the border with Kwale County.

The construction is expected to take 36 months and, when complete, drastically enhance the traffic flow to and from Mombasa and complement the recently concluded Dongo Kundu bypass to boost trade and tourism on the North and South Coasts.

The stalled project was unlocked after Transport and Infrastructure CS Kipchumba Murkomen signed a memorandum of cooperation with JICA on January 10, 2024.

According to Kenya Government, the project will employ about 80,000 people during its construction and is expected to rake in an income of approximately Sh80 million per year.

Once compete, the Mombasa Gate Bridge is expected to become the second longest bridge in Africa after the 6th of October Bridge, which is a 20.5km elevated highway in Cairo, Egypt.

The bridge crosses the Nile twice from the western bank, east via Gezira Island to Downtown Cairo, connecting the city to other highways leading to Cairo International Airport to the east.