Kenya coastal town Mombasa is an island with a somewhat tricky logistical problem when it comes to constructing a transport network to-and-from the mainland. Currently, the mainland and the island are connected via a ferry service; a transport means that occasionally proves to be a nightmare when they break down.
Well, folks plying that route will be pleased to know that the Kenyan cabinet has approved the construction of cable car linking Mombasa to the mainland. The project is estimated to cost about Ksh. 4.1 billion ($40 million).
The project will be funded by a company from Kenya in partnership with other companies from Australia. The said companies will receive their Return on Investment (ROI) by charging commuters using the cable cars some fee over a period of 25 years, before ceding the facility to the Kenyan government.
When up and running, the cable car will save commuters about 8 minutes off their daily commute along the 500-meter stretch along the Likoni Channel. The journey by ferry takes, on average, about 10 minutes to cross from one end to the other. With the cable cars, the crossing will be made in about two minutes.
The cable car will also carry up to 11,000 passengers per hour in both directions, and have a total capacity of carrying 180,000 people every day. When up and running, Kenya will become the third country in sub-Saharan Africa (after South Africa and Nigeria) to use cable cars. The link will have 22 cable cars attached, with each cabin having a capacity of 38 passengers. It is estimated that some 300,000 people and 6,000 vehicles ply the route every day.