Kenya rides out congestion storm

Abdallah Mwaruwa Mombasa, managing director of the Port, said that the growth in earnings could be attributed mainly to a substantial increase in full import containers. Improved port performance was the result of new equipment and improved marketing efforts. Investments in port infrastructure worth US$100m have been made over the past few years and in 2007 the port welcomed three new shipping lines as regular callers.

According to Mwaruwa, transit cargo grew to 4.423m tonnes in 2007, compared with 3.807m tonnes the previous year, an increase of 16.2%. Transhipment cargo grew by almost 40%, from 318,416 tonnes to 426,436 tonnes. With the introduction of services by Emirates Lines, Hull and Hatch Lines and China National Shipping Lines, there are now 20 international shipping companies serving Mombasa on a regular basis.

During the period of post-election violence, the KPA lost up to KSh2bn (US$28.5m), according to Mwaruwa. However, two private container depots introduced outside the port limits and taking 6,000–10,000 containers had greatly assisted in easing congestion. Nevertheless, road transport companies have been asking for 24-hour operation to be introduced at Mombasa’s freight stations. The hauliers claim it can take up to five days to load a single container, causing them massive losses. As a result, truckers have threatened to stage a blockade in protest.