Mombasa: Likoni residents have been urged to be conscious of their environment and be the champions of their surroundings during the launch of a clean-up exercise at the ferry offices Monday morning.
The exercise entailed cleaning the entire areas accessed by ferry commuters both at the island and the mainland.
“It is important to sensitise all users about the need for a clean environment considering we have currently 300,000 ferry users crossing this channel every day,” said Kenya Ferry Services Manging Director Bakari Gowa.
The commuters carry a lot of luggage with them, hence you find them leaving some behind and in turn littering both the waiting bays and the vessels.
Gowa said the exercise will be a continuous, with at least two similar activities every year.
Gowa also said that the organisation will provide garbage bins at various spots where ferry users pass through so that they can dispose their litter.
“Other than tackling the subject of reducing fume emission on our fleet, KFS has been actively promoting environment protection for the benefit of the community,” Gowa concluded.
New ferries expected
The KFS managing director said that they are expecting at least one new ferry manufactured by Turkey-based Ozata Shipbuilders that will be delivered in December 2016.
“The contract was for the design of two vessels, construction and commissioning. We are currently through with the designs of the two double ended ferries and construction works are already ongoing,” said the MD.
The ferries are designed to have a carrying capacity of 62 cars and 1,500 passengers. The passengers will be seated on the upper deck which has 1369 seats with an overhead covering to protect them from foul weather.
“This is a great improvement for the comfort of the passengers, the ferries have been designed to provide a space for persons with Disabilities on the main deck," Gowa said.
“In addition, the ferries will have two washrooms one on the main deck and one on the passenger deck”.
We have our team travelling to turkey for the inspection process and also to fast track the construction in order to meet the completion timelines.
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Gowa said that they are still maintaining the completion dates for the vessels construction project and expressed hope that at least one of the vessels.
The two ferries are being built at a cost of USD18.6 million (Sh1860 million).
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