KPA launches ksh500 million modern dockyard tug jetty
Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) has commissioned the newly constructed Sh 500 million modern dockyard tug jetty to bolster the efficiency of marine craft maintenance and enhance the safety of users at the facility.
The new tug jetty estimated to last for the next 80 years, replaces the old and rundown jetty that was constructed in the early 1950s, and which had been declared unsafe following successive safety audits according to acting Managing Director Rashid Salim.
“The old jetty reached its most critical damaged state with non-functional utilities, detaching slab and was declared unsafe in successive safety audits. It became the main subject of Works Committee meetings and Change Management Focus group discussions,” the MD noted during the launch at the Port of Mombasa.
He observed that the old jetty could no longer support the marine current loads exerted on it and did not meet contemporary jetty standards.
As a result, the management concluded that the old jetty was posing obstacle to efficient marine craft maintenance and settled for an entirely new jetty design incorporating modern structural and utilities specifications
According to the Salim, the old jetty was since decommissioned, paving way for construction for the new tug jetty which is a suspended deck structure of reinforced concrete cast in-situ at approximately 12 meters from the shoreline.
The new modern facility is connected to the land side by means of an access trestle of the same construction design as the main jetty.
Asked why the facility would cost a whooping half a billion, the KPA boss said Sh 500 million was the lowest cost following an open competitive Tender No. KPA/088/2018-19/PDM advertised in February 2019, and won by China Road and Bridge Construction Company (Kenya) Limited (CRBC).
“It cost us Sh 500 million because we had to start from scratch. We had new piles and bigger slabs than those used in the old jetty. As KPA we must focus on quality and that is why this new jetty will be more durable,” the MD said.
The new jetty has an overall length spanning 50meters, with a width of 20.64m and Slab Thickness 1.2m.
The concrete deck is supported by 24 piles spaced six meters apart; each of diameter, 1m. A total of eighteen (18) fenders and three (3) bollards are installed alongside the new jetty.
“It will accommodate all our harbour tugs as a temporary resting place and during the refilling of provisions and maintenance. In this respect, I would like to note particularly that the arrangement of the new tug jetty structural members is designed to meet local load transfer and stability requirements,” stated Salim.
