Infrastructure

Mombasa Cruise Ship Terminal Nears Completion

The President’s Delivery Unit says the terminal is 95pc complete.

Updated on

July 13, 2020

The Mombasa Cruise Ship Terminal. PHOTO/COURTESY

Construction of a modern cruise ship terminal at the port of Mombasa is nearing completion, after a three-year delay, bringing to life a new facility that seeks to boost Kenya tourism.

The Mombasa Cruise Ship Terminal, whose works began in 2016, was to open in August 2017, but this was pushed to 2018 and then 2019 due to “unavoidable circumstances”.

The President’s Delivery Unit (PDU), now says the terminal is 95 per cent complete.

“The three-story building will accommodate port health services, logistics, immigration, and duty-free shops among others. It is expected to bolster Kenya’s tourism sector by offering visitors a one-stop-shop for travel and hospitality services,” PDU said in a statement.

“This new facility will offer a dedicated section for (cruise) ships to dock at the port of Mombasa…This will enhance the tourism destination attractiveness of Mombasa.”

PDU said the Mombasa Cruise Ship Terminal was built for Sh1 billion, although it was earlier indicated that the project would cost Sh350 million – with Sh250 million coming from the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) and the balance from TradeMark East Africa (TMEA).

The new terminal whose design features modern high-roofed structures will be primarily powered by solar energy. The facility also has a bio-digester that will recycle water for re-use, according to KPA.

The Mombasa Cruise Ship Terminal will replace the dilapidated Shade 1 and 2, which have been handling cruise liners.

Built-in 1926 as a cargo store and later converted as a cruise terminal in the 1960s, the existing passenger terminal has for many years undermined the growth of cruise tourism in the country.

Industry players have previously said the terminal is a misrepresentation of Kenya’s tourism beauty; having been built with piled foundation, reinforced concrete beams and columns, timber and steel truss and asbestos roofing sheets that have deteriorated with age.

“It makes economic logic to have the (new) terminal given that it is a critical node in increasing tourism in the region,” KPA said in a statement.

The new cruise ship terminal comes at a time when Kenya is wooing several cruise ship mega circuits including South Africa, Seychelles, Zanzibar, and Mauritius for partnerships.