•Last year, the container traffic rose by 11.9 per cent from 1.49 million in 2022 to 1.62 million with cargo throughput tattling 35.9 million tonnes.
•The Port of Mombasa is expected to handle up to 47 million metric tonnes of cargo by the year 2030,
Kenya Ports Authority plans to expand the old terminal at the Port of Mombasa, management has said, in addition to the ongoing extension of the second container terminal whose construction is entering the third phase.
It plans to expand the Old Terminal by 290 metres from the current 790 metres.
KPA to expand Mombasa Port on growing cargo volumes
This is on the back of growing cargo volumes and number of ships calling at the East African region’s leading port facility, buoyed by rising trade between the East African Community states, led by Kenya, and the international markets.
According to industry projections, the Port of Mombasa is expected to handle up to 47 million metric tonnes of cargo by the year 2030, from the current 35.9 million tonnes recorded last year-Economic Survey 2024.
The throughput was an increase from 33.9 million tonnes the port handled in 2022, as Mombasa maintained its position as the main harbor serving the region.
Last year, the container traffic rose by 11.9 per cent from 1.49 million in 2022 to 1.62 million.
“The increase was partly due to a 17.6 per cent rise in number of ships handled from 1,561 in 2022 to 1,835 in 2023. The average container ship turnaround time improved from 2.9 days recorded in 2022 to 2.3 days in 2023, an indication of improved port efficiency,” Kenya National Bureau of Statistics noted in its economic survey.
Equally, the average gross moves per ship per hour improved from 32.5 moves in 2022 to 38.8 moves in 2023.
KPA managing director William Ruto has attributed the stellar performance to the port’s modernisation efforts and a dedicated workforce, which have in turn elevated operational efficiency.
KPA management expects container throughput to grow by 200,000 this year to 1.8 million.
Over the long-term, Mombasa is expected to be handling up to 111 million tonnes, by 2047.
This hence necessitates continued expansion of the port and equipment modernization, according to management, which is also courting larger vessels to call at the port.
It is also in the process of implementing Phase III of the multi-billion second-container terminal, whose Phase I and II have so far increased the port's annual capacity to over 2.18 million TEUs.
The first phase of the three-phased project was completed in February 2016 and commissioned for operations in September 2016, which increased the port’s annual capacity by 550,000 containers.
The second phase completed in 2022 increased the port’s annual capacity by 450,000 containers.
Phase III implementation process commenced last year and is expected to take the port’s capacity to above 2.5 million containers annually, with the second container terminal, located on 100 acres at Kilindini Harbour, being one of the biggest projects KPA has implemented at Mombasa in recent years.
It is part of the Mombasa Port Development Programme which targets larger vessels, giving the port a competitive edge over Dar es Salaam and Djibouti ports.
On Monday, KPA management led by Ruto held a meeting and tour of the port with a delegation from Evergreen, one of the world’s leading container shipping companies, and Gulf Badr Group specialists in marine services and Evergreen’s agency.
Evergreen and KPA have had a co-operation spanning a decade with Ruto keen to have the shipping line allow more vessels to Mombasa.
The deliberations touched on the operations of the Port of Mombasa, ship turnaround time the evacuations of cargo to the hinterland via SGR to Nairobi and Naivasha, and development of port facilities in Special Economic Zones.
“We want to see Evergreen become frequent callers at the Port of Mombasa and we assure the world that Mombasa has the capacity to handle cargo efficiently and in real-time,” Ruto said.
This, even as he called on Evergreen and other shipping lines to expand operations to Lamu Port, where KPA has invested in new state-of- the-art equipment, including ship-to-shore gantries and mobile cranes.
He committed to efficiency and productivity in the port to reduce waiting time and also enhance vessel turnaround time, as Mombasa remains the gateway to East and Central Africa, serving eight countries including Northern Tanzania and other landlocked countries.
The Evergreen team comprised of its manager, Near East, Millet Tsai, Deputy Head Near East Dept (project Division) Peter Tsai, and Gearge Offiesh, marketing and sales director Gulf Badr Agencies and the Evergreen Kenya officials.