SGR boosting efficiency, Kenya's port of Mombasa to handle 1.4 million TEUs in 2019

Kenya's port of Mombasa is expected to handle a container traffic of 1.4 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) in 2019, surpassing the 1.3 million mark reached in 2018, an official said on Friday.

Daniel Manduku, managing director of Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) told journalists in Mombasa that the facility has already handled one million TEUs with four months remaining in the year.

"We expect the port of Mombasa to handle an estimated 1.4 million TEUs of cargo by the end of the year," Manduku said.

Kenya's largest port handles cargo for the eastern and central African regions, which include Uganda, northern Tanzania, South Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

According to KPA, the rise in traffic in the port facility is largely due to increasing demand for imports into the region and 70 percent of all cargo handled at the port of Mombasa is consumed locally with the rest going to the neighboring east and central Africa.

"Uganda remains the biggest transit destination for goods handled by Kenyan ports," Manduku added.

Manduku said that in order to accommodate increasing traffic volumes, it is expanding the facility.

"We are reclaiming land from the Indian Ocean to construct the second container terminal which will augment the capacity of the port by an additional one million TEUs," he added.

Manduku said that Kenya is also prioritizing the completion of the dry port in Naivasha and Kisumu port in order to enhance the country's volumes of international trade.

SGR BOOSTING EFFICIENCY

Edward Opiyo, head of container operations of KPA told reporters that the Mombasa- Nairobi railway line currently evacuates 50 percent of all cargo that arrives at the port.

"The SGR has been instrumental in reducing the port of Mombasa's container dwell time making it an attractive facility for international traders in the east and central Africa region," said Opiyo.

He said the introduction of the SGR cargo service has reduced congestion at the port due to its ability to haul huge volumes of cargo on a daily basis.

"This has made Mombasa to be an ideal port for importers from the region," said Opiyo.

He said that the SGR currently moves 12 to 13 block trains daily from the port facility.

Opiyo said that about 80 percent of containers that arrive by sea in Mombasa leave within four days.

"As a result traders no longer have to pay demurrage fees for cargo stored at the port," said Opiyo.

He said that the SGR has also improved the safety of transportation of freight to Kenya's hinterland.