The Dongo Kundu bypass, which links Miritini in the west of Mombasa to Kibundani in Kwale, has officially opened to the public, and will serve the Dongo Kundu Special Economic Zone (SEZ), which is a Kenya Vision 2030 flagship project sitting on 1,200 acres of land. Dongo Kundu is served by the southern bypass road, 10,000m3 a day water reservoir, a dedicated 220KV power substation, a state-of-the-art fibre optic connection and a dedicated SEZ port and free trade zone. The Special Economic Zone will stimulate industrial activity through fiscal and regulatory incentives and infrastructure support in order to create jobs and employment opportunities and improve the country’s trade imbalance, investments and effective administration. Other benefits of the project will be: Reduced traffic congestion in the port City of Mombasa, which is a high tourist county. Traffic congestion has been estimated to cost Kenya some 60 billion shillings and hence loss of funds that could go to savings, investments and development. Traffic congestion has also been reduced through the various initiatives like the construction of the Changamwe interchange, the dualling of the roads, and the construction of the Makupa bridge (which replaced the Makupa causeway constructed in 1929), which enabled Mombasa to remain in the list of the island cities globally as per the UNESCO recommendations. This increases the competitiveness of the city, which is key to attracting more investments, which leads to more industries and manufacturing hubs within the city for more jobs and employment creation.
It will enhance the connectivity of passengers’ to and from the SGR terminus (SGR being one of the single largest infrastructure investments in the country, which promotes the intermodal transport linkage between railways and roads). There is need to ensure that all projects have the element of interconnectivity and linkages to ensure that they can be thoroughly used to spur development. These roads will open up and link the port city of Mombasa with other counties and countries, which increases the volume of trade and hence increased quality of life for Kenyans. The project opens up the hinterland of Kwale county for example and spur more investments and initiatives in the county. The project therefore addresses the historical marginalization for these counties and creates the much-needed confidence for national cohesion, security and national building. The coming into force of the project shows the importance of long-term planning and implementation. Kenya needs to continue with the long-term planning, which integrates the East African Community (EAC) Vision 2050, Africa Union Agenda 2063, and the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which incorporates the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Dr Giti is an urban management, public – private partnerships (PPP) and environment specialist. mutegigiti@gmail.com , @danielgiti
Dr. Daniel Mutegi Giti 