Kenya Ferry Services (KFS) has set its sights on introducing cable cars on the Likoni channel to address transport challenges between Mombasa Island and the south coast.

Over the years, tourists heading either to Diani in the south coast or Mombasa have been facing transport hitches caused by frequent ferry breakdowns.

According to KFS Managing Director, Bakari Gowa, a concession agreement for the construction of the Ksh5.5 bn (€51m) cable cars at the Likoni crossing has been finalised, paving the way for engineering work to begin next year. “We have finalised the terms of constructing the cable cars and we expect the works to take off in March next year,” he said. The project is expected to take 14 months to complete.

Gowa said when the project was complete, the cable cars would be able to transport 80 000 passengers a day and decongest the ferries. The project will comprise 22 cable cars, each able to carrying 38 passengers. There will be nine trips every hour, taking an estimated two minutes and thirty-five seconds to cross the 500-metre stretch.

Passengers will pay Ksh20 (€0.2) per trip in off-peak hours and Ksh50 (€0.5) during peak hours, according to Trapos Africa Chairman, Eustace Mwarania.

Currently, ferries take between five and 10 minutes to move passengers across the channel, but delays of up to 40 minutes have been occurring when the vessels break down.