Kenya to improve port congestion by investing in Mombasa Port expansion

December 11, 2006 by SwizStick  
Filed under Seafreight, Supply Chain Management

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Via AllAfrica.com:

The Mombasa Port will be expanded at a cost of Sh15 billion to accommodate more cargo and ships.

Transport minister, Mr Chirau Ali Mwakwere and Permanent Secretary, Mr Gerishon Ikiara, said negotiations for financial support to construct the second container terminal are under way. Plans to privatise the existing container facility are also on course.

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The PS said the project would involve reclaiming of land from the sea and dredging of the port to allow entry of bigger ships. He said the Government would sign the funding agreement, carry out a comprehensive assessment and kick off the multi-billion shilling project next year.

“Construction of a second container terminal will improve cargo handling capacity at Mombasa port,” said Mwakwere.

Most of Africa is a tough place to source/ship from, thanks to poor infrastructure, congestion, corruption, archaic and time consuming regulations, the list goes on. From this article it sounds like Kenya is on the right track, investing in a second container terminal, dredging the port, and, most importantly, privatising  the existing container terminal. If Kenya can develop the port of Mombasa into a private, modern, relatively congestion-free port (at least compared to the rest of East Africa) then they should be able to attract a significant amount of business to the Mombasa area and Kenya in general. A smooth-functioning port would go a long way to improving their own export market in addition to attracting other export markets who would look to route their cargo through Mombasa. A boost in international trade in and around the port will also improve the market for and attract other related businesses, such as warehousing and trucking, 3PLs and forwarders, and international financial services.

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