Dongo Kundu Bypass Highway, also Mombasa Southern Bypass Highway , is a road under construction in

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

. When completed, it will connect Mombasa Mainland West to Mombasa Mainland South, without entering

Mombasa Island Mombasa Island is a coral outcrop located on Kenya's coast on the Indian Ocean, which is connected to the mainland by a causeway. Part of the city of Mombasa is located on the island, including the Mombasa_Old_Town, Old Town. History The old ...

Location

Dongo Kundu Bypass starts in the neighborhood called

Miritini Miritini is a suburb of Mombasa, Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the wo ...

, on the

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

–

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital status in 1907. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

Highway, approximately , northwest of the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

of Mombasa. From there it loops around the western edge of

Moi International Airport Moi International Airport is an international airport in Mombasa, the second-largest city in Kenya. In 2020, the airport was heralded as the "Best Airport in Africa" (with under 2 million passengers annually) by Airports Council International ...

and ends at a neighborhood called Mwache at the water's edge, west of the airport. From Mwache, several bridges carry the highway across the Port Reitz Bay to Dongo Kundu on the south-side of the bay. From Dongo Kundu the highway continues in a southeasterly direction until it ends at Ng’ombeni, on the Malindi–Bagamoyo Highway. The entire bypass highway measures approximately .

Overview

This road is an important transport corridor for traffic destined to and from Tanzania and that to and from the interior of Kenya and beyond. This will ease traffic pressure on the

Likoni Ferry The Likoni Ferry is a ferry service across Kilindini Harbour, serving the Kenyan city of Mombasa between Mombasa Island and the mainland suburb of Likoni. Ferry#Double-ended, Double-ended ferries alternate across the harbour, carrying both road a ...

. The bypass will decongest

. Four bridges will be built in the swamps and across the open ocean water, as part of the highway. Other road improvements in addition to the highway include a dual carriageway between Miritini and Kipevu, a road measuring connecting Moi International Airport to the bypass which passes west of the airport and clover-leaf interchanges at Miritini and Kipevu. A free trade zone, the ''Dongo Kundu Free Trade Zone'', with 6,200 sites and ability to accommodate more than 10,000 business units is part of the planned development. Kenya National Highway Authority is the developer of the project.

Funding

The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract was awarded to China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation for Package 1 and 3; and to Fujita Corporation-

Mitsubishi Corporation is a Japanese general trading company ( ''sogo shosha'') and a core member of the Mitsubishi Group. For much of the post-war period, Mitsubishi Corporation has been the largest of the five great ''sogo shosha'' (Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Itochu, S ...

Consortium, for Package 2. The three-package project is budgeted at KSh25 billion (approx. US$251 million). The first phase of construction was the Miritini to Kipevu section, budgeted at KSh11 billion (approx. US$110.31 million), borrowed from the

Japan International Cooperation Agency The Japan International Cooperation Agency (), also known as JICA'','' is a governmental agency that delivers the bulk of Official Development Assistance (ODA) for the government of Japan. It is chartered with assisting economic and social gr ...

. The construction loans were provided to the government of Kenya by the Japanese government, at 1.2 percent annual interest over 30 years with grace period that expires in 2024.

Construction

The first phase of this three-phase project was completed and commissioned in June 2018. Phase II and III of the development are expected to follow. As of November 2020, phases II and III were ongoing, with completion anticipated in 2024. In August 2024, the completed road was opened to the public, while awaiting official commissioning. At a later date this and other national highways maybe converted to toll roads if and when the appropriate laws are promulgated. The other roads include: ''Nairobi-Mau Summit Road'', ''Nairobi Southern Bypass'', Thika Superhighway, and the ''Kenol-Sagana-Marua Road''.

References

External links