Waterfronts planned in Nakuru, Kilifi and Kisumu counties to boost tourism
Mama Ngina Waterfront Park in Mombasa.
What you need to know:
- Mama Ngina Waterfront Park, formerly Mama Ngina Drive, a seafront open public space touching the Indian Ocean at the Likoni ferry channel was opened last year.
- The government now has plans to redevelop the Jomo Kenyatta public beach in Northern mainland of Mombasa.
- The waterfronts are expected to help shore up tourist numbers and present the recreational sites as top tourist destinations in the region.
The government is investing millions of shillings in establishing waterfronts in the country, in a grand plan to revitalize the tourism that has been hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Waterfronts will be established in Nakuru, Kilifi and Kisumu counties after the completed Mombasa's Mama Ngina, said the Ministry of Tourism, which will work with the State Department of Housing and Urban Development and county governments.
The redeveloped Sh460-million Mama Ngina Waterfront Park, formerly Mama Ngina Drive, a seafront open public space touching the Indian Ocean at the Likoni ferry channel was opened last year.
The waterfront was the venue of last year's Mashujaa Day. It is a modern public recreational area with several amenities to attract more tourists.
The waterfront now features a palm tree-lined walkway from the ferry crossing to its south through to the Mombasa Golf Club to the North.
These two points are the entry and exit points both ways, and are now marked by huge gates.
Game changer
From its initial layout of a watching bay area carved out of a small rising cliff facing the channel, the park has a properly built natural amphitheatre, a cultural centre, and a sun-drenched 2.1km long promenade and a space for food vendors.
The park that has always been a place for leisure resting, walking, jogging and riding, has been transformed into an integrated urban tourist attraction.
The park is the first public landscaped waterfront in the country with a seating capacity of about 3,000 people.
The government now has plans to redevelop the Jomo Kenyatta public beach in Northern mainland of Mombasa, the Malindi waterfront, and others in Naivasha and Kisumu on lakes Naivasha and Victoria respectively.
According to Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala, the waterfronts are expected to help shore up tourist numbers and present the recreational sites as top tourist destinations in the region.
"The projects are a game changer. The Mama Ngina waterfront was completed and opened last year. The Kilifi waterfront is under way and will be complete by end of this year. The Tourism ministry is optimistic that the waterfronts will attract more local and foreign tourists to the country. They are among the many projects we are doing across the country in partnership with counties and the State Department of Housing and Urban Development,” said Mr Balala.
