Work on mega hotel stopped in Mombasa County over illegal dumping of debris

Construction debris at Dolphin Hotel in Shanzu, Mombasa County. The Mombasa County Government yesterday stopped the construction of a multimillion-shilling tourist hotel in Shanzu after neighbours complained that the contractor was dumping the construction debris on a public road. (PHOTO: MAARUFU MOHAMED/ STANDARD)

The Mombasa County Government yesterday stopped the construction of a multimillion-shilling tourist hotel in Shanzu after neighbours complained that the contractor was dumping construction debris on a public road.

The county yesterday said the contractor of Dolphin Hotel, which is linked to a top politician in the Jubilee government, had breached regulations regarding the disposal of waste.

A letter to the contractor, Avco Agencies Limited, warned that county officials would move to the site to stop the construction if its orders were ignored.

"The development of the land has been carried out without the grant of permission. You are required to immediately cease the undertaking of any works and or construction incidental to the approval," reads the letter.

The county has also instructed the contractor to remove all construction materials and machinery from the site, warning that "failure to do that the enforcement officers shall move in and execute such requirement without further notification made to you".

Yesterday, County Director of Physical Planning Paul Manyala said the decision was taken after neighbours complained that the environment was being degraded.

He said the residents wrote to the county government, accusing the contractor of dumping debris from the site onto a public road.

"The development was approved with conditions well articulated in the approval notice, which the contractor has breached. They are doing the development in total disregard of the law," said Manyala.

Manyala also noted that the hotel's structural plan had not been approved by the county, and said the contractor did not have a dumping permit.

"The building under construction is inspected in 11 stages, but this one has not been inspected and a report filed at our offices. But of great concern is the careless dumping of the debris excavated from the site," he said.

According to a notice on the site, the project is the extension and alteration of Dolphin Hotel. The notice says it had been approved by all relevant government agencies. It lists the County Government of Mombasa as one of the entities that approved the project.

Efforts to reach Dolphin Hotel management and the contractor did not yield fruit, but a tour to the area revealed that debris are dumped by the road.