Construction of Dongo Kundu phase two starts in April

The construction of the second phase of Dongo Kundu Southern Bypass will start in April, Kenha Director-General Peter Mundinia has said.

Speaking in an interview with the Nation, Mr Mundinia said Japanese consortium Fujita Corporation/Mitsubishi Corporation was contracted to undertake the Sh24 billion construction project that will take two years.

“The contract has been awarded to the consortium and its construction will take 48 months,” he said.

The 8.96km dual carriage highway includes Mwache bridge which is 660m long, Mwache viaduct (680m) and Mteza bridge, which Mr Mundinia said will be more than 2km long.

“Comparing to other bridges, this one is bigger than Nyali (390m) and Kilifi (420m). Mteza bridge length is seven times longer than that of Nyali and Kilifi, and it will reduce cost and time used to crossover to and from the South Coast. It will serve Dongo Kundu Special Economic Zone and will boost trade and tourism ,” he said.

DELAY

The cost of the project, he said, is in different denominations which include USD150 million (Sh15bn), JY 4.184 billion and Sh4.894 billion.

When President Kenyatta opened the first phase of the bypass at Miritini in June last year, he said construction of the second phase was to begin in August last year, but it was delayed.

“It was not an actual delay, but it was issues to do with checking of the contract and other government processes that had to be done. A huge project like that has to pass through the Attorney-General to assess the issue of taxation and agreements,” Mr Mundinia said.

He added: "Even if the contractor has been awarded now, they cannot start immediately. They must now start mobilisation of their equipment to the site."