Kenya Ferry Services Gives Go Ahead For Ferry Operations To Lake Turkana

Kenya Ferry Services(KFS) board of directors have approved the expansion of ferry services to other counties which has been a project being explored for a while. The KFS have plans to extend the services to Diani which is in Kwale County, Malindi in Kilifi County and Lamu County. It also seeks to have ferry services in the lake regions which include Lake Victoria and Lake Turkana.

Bakari Gowa the director of the KFS affirmed that the proposals ti expand the ferry services have already been tabled to the Ministry of Transport. “The proposals were affirmed at our level by the board of directors and we are now awaiting approval by the ministry before we move on with further plans,” said Mr Gowa. He explained that the expansion would be done in two phases, one phase involving taking operations to Lamu and the South Coast before now moving to inland. Phase two on the other hand would involve having the ferries operating on Lake Turkana and Lake Victoria. “Our officials were last week in talks with Kisumu and Homa Bay counties which have shown interest in having the project. In fact, we have received a letter of commitment from Homabay county for the project,” said Mr Gowa.

The project is expected to be carried out under Public-Private partnership should it go through. Mr. Gowa said that as they await the approval from the ministry, they will be in search of potential partners for the expansion project. “KFS will be there to provide the ferries but we have also engaged the counties to see if they would also have vessels operating under them. We want as many operators as possible,” said Mr Gowa. Currently, ferry services are being offered on the Likoni and Mtongwe channels in Mombasa county.