Kenyan Government Approves $40m Doppelmayr Cable Car Project

The Kenyan Cabinet has approved the construction of a Ksh4.1 billion ($40 million) cable car project to ease movement of passengers between Mombasa Island and the mainland.

The Likoni Cable Express will be a state-of-the-art multi-gondola cable car system connecting either side of the Likoni channel crossing. This innovative passenger transport solution will operate seven days a week with a journey time of 3-4 minutes.

“Cabinet approved a privately initiated investment proposal to develop a cable car system to address the human traffic challenges across the Likoni Channel,” read a communication from the Cabinet. The express link will have 22 cable cars, which will carry 38 passengers per cabin.

Doppelmayr Group will provide the cars and cables and will work with the local C&C Construction Company, which will be in charge of erecting two 90-metre masts and building the landing stations

For an aerial cable system of this proposed size and configuration, it is currently anticipated that the construction phase will be completed within 18-24 months.

The consortium is granted the exclusive right to operate the project for an agreed period of time to recover its initial investment costs as well as operating costs and generate a reasonable return for investors before ceding the investment to the government after 25 years.