The construction of the new Sh3.1bn (US$31m) Port Reitz project linking the newly constructed container terminal at the Port of Mombasa, Kenya, to the country’s main road system has been launched. The road project, which is expected to decrease congestion in the city of Mombasa and increase trade in the East-African region, includes the construction of a 6.4 km access road to the Moi International Airport from the new Kipevu West container terminal. The UK’s Department of International Development (DFID) will invest US$20m into the project through the development organization TradeMark Africa (TMA), while the government of Kenya will contribute with US$11m.
The first phase of the construction plan is 20% complete with milestones achieved in the ongoing feasibility studies, and TMA reportedly pledged an investment of Sh1.9bn (US$18m) for the second phase, local media reported. In the period preceding the 2018 completion of the Mombasa Southern By pass project, which the government is currently constructing to support access to the Kipevu West container terminal, the Port Reitz road will be the only access to the new facilities.

In a statement, TMA said: “An upgraded Port Reitz road is of economic importance to not only Mombasa, but also the wider East-African region as it will contribute towards improving access to and from the Port of Mombasa by improving the free flow of traffic and easing congestion in Mombasa town.” “Expansion will begin from the port gate to the junction with airport road, leading to the new Kipevu West container terminal,” the organisation added.
According to local newspaper Standard Media, Kenya’s Transport and Infrastructure Principal Secretary John Mosonik attributed the slow take-off of the project to the Sh2.1bn (US$20m) required to compensate the affected residents living on land targeted by the project. A tender process is currently underway as terminal operators compete for a 25-year lease at the new terminal.

Source: CM

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