The government of Kenya through the National Land Commission (NLC) has reserved a 0.4 hectares piece of land for the implementation of the close to US$ 60M Likoni Cable Car project in Mombasa, restoring hopes of residents who had decried the slow uptake of the project.
In a gazette notice released in early November 2021, NLC chairman Gershom Otachi ordered the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) to make use of the land within a period of 180 days failure to which it shall be reverted to the owners.
“The management body of KPA shall within 180 days of publishing of this reservation order cause to be prepared and submit a plan for the development management and use of the reserved land to NLC for approval, failure to which the management orders will stand revoked,” read the gazette notice in part.
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In the directive, KPA shall only be allowed to hold the use of the reserve land for the specified purposes of the Likoni Cable Car and other ancillary services only. The ports authority shall also not part with the possession of the reserved land or any part thereof without the written consent of the NLC.
Likoni Cable Car Project overview
The project mainly involves the construction of a 500-meter cable car link, two 90-meter masts, and two landing stations on either side of the crossing point in addition to access roads that shall be used by the public for both motorized and non-motorized users throughout.
The cable car project shall operate a total of 22 cars known as gondolas, with a carrying capacity of 38 passengers, projected to ferry up to 180,000 commuters daily. Likoni Cable Cars are tipped to run the facility for a period of 25 years before handing it over to Kenya Ferry Services under a public-private partnership arrangement.
