Kenya is growing closer to realising its dream of maintaining the longest bridge on the African continent after President William Ruto secured billions guaranteeing its completion.
State House, in a press statement on Thursday, announced that the Head of State had secured a total of Ksh350 billion to finance his administration's upcoming project.
In the deals signed, the Mombasa Gateway Bridge and the Dongo Kundu Infrastructure Ecosystem benefitted the most securing Ksh260 billion of the total.
The funding comes a month after Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen met Japanese officials at the second Kenya-Japan Quality Infrastructure Conference in Nairobi to discuss the construction of the bridge.
At the time, the CS boasted that the bridge which has been under construction since its feasibility study was done in 2019.
"Japan is also involved in new major projects such as the Mombasa Gateway Bridge, which will be the longest in Africa," Murkomen stated at the time.
"It will not only ease the movement of people and goods between the island and the South Coast but will also be a tourist attraction."
Initially, the project had been fashioned as a loan of Ksh47 billion extended by Japan.
Its construction was initially scheduled to begin in June 2021 with the completion date set for 2024 but delays have led to postponements.
Part of the delays were caused by the need to compensate a total of 1,706 households that were displaced from 725 plots amounting to 62.6 hectares of land.
The Dongo Kundu Infrastructure Ecosystem, on the other hand, aims at installing infrastructure supporting the Mombasa Special Economic Zone. Its feasibility test was carried out in February 2020.
President Ruto and Prime Minister Fumio Kushida also agreed that Kenya will issue a KSh40 billion Samurai bond in Japan to finance energy and infrastructure projects.
A Samurai bond is a yen-denominated bond issued in Tokyo by a non-Japanese company. The bond is, however, subject to Japanese regulations.
Kenya also secured KSh30 billion from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation to purchase heavy machinery and mechanised assets.
The Olkaria Geothermal Development Project will get KSh15 billion. Japan will also provide KSh1 billion for the production of medical oxygen for various hospitals.
