Sh100m released for those displaced by Dongo Kundu bridge projects

What you need to know:

KeNHA said compensation for the first phase of the project has been released to the National Land Commission.

The government has released Sh100 million out of Sh250 million set aside for compensation of property owners affected by the second phase of the Dongo Kundu project.

The Kenya National Highway Authority (KeNHA) said compensation for the first phase of the project has been released to the National Land Commission (NLC).

“NLC are undertaking due diligence before releasing payments to persons affected. We have not interfered with the project affected persons,” said the authority’s communication manager Charles Njogu.

Speaking to Business Daily, the communication boss said the contractor is working on determining government land and finalising soil tests.

He said senior officials from KeNHA led by Director General Peter Mundinia will this week visit the sites to check on the projects.

The residents who were affected by project have been demanding for compensation. Led by their chairman, Hamisi Tsuma Mwero the residents said the multibillion infrastructure project has displaced most villagers who used to eke a living through subsistence farming on their ancestral land.

“We have been displaced by the construction of the Dongo Kundu project yet we have not been compensated,” he said.

The project is funded by the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) and government has settled on Fujita as the main contractor. The contractor has already deployed heavy machinery at Mwache creek in Mkupe including drills and earth movers.

The project involves the construction of two bridges, a 660m Mwache bridge which will link Tsunza peninsula in Kwale County where it will connect with the 1.4km Mteza bridge that will complete the South Coast mainland connection. Already sections of mangrove vegetation on seafronts have been cleared to pave way for the bridges.

While the third phase consists of a 6.9km road from Mteza and Kibundani involves construction of an interchange at the Likoni-Lunga Lunga highway. The bypass will be connecting the North Coast and the South Coast.