The Kenya Ferry Services (KFS) has announced plans to expand its operations to more water bodies in the country.
The KFS Board Chairman, Dan Mwazo and Managing Director, George Gowa on Friday said the state corporation’s five-year strategic plan had proposed the expansion of services to major water bodies such as Lakes Victoria and Turkana as well as the Indian Ocean in Lamu.
The KFS operates ferries at the Likoni channel in Mombasa County and Mbita in Migori County.
Mwazo said in Malindi on that KFS would employ modern technology with a view to transforming its services and attracting more business.
“Our strategy will not only benefit regions but also people with disabilities and the elderly,” he said adding that the organization would also focus on safety.
“What we are planning to do is to focus on value addition through initiating new ideas and creativity especially on safety and decongestion of ferry services,” he said.
Mwazo said the plan would require huge sums of money to execute and hoped the government would inject funds into the corporation since it was facing financial challenges.
“The KFS has been facing financial challenges because we are not allowed to charge commuters,” he said, adding that the parastatal did not have enough land for parking.
On his part, Gowa said KFS would in two-year’s time use old ferries as floating hotels so as to diversify its activities and boost revenue.
“We are planning to invest in the establishment of floating hotels and restaurants using the old ferries to help KFS realize more income,” he said.
Some of the old ferries would be put into museums to boost tourism and give an opportunity for Kenyans to learn the history of the ferry services in the county, said Gowa.
By Dorothy Makori/Emmanuel Masha
