Cargo traffic at Mombasa port rises

MOMBASA, KENYA: Cargo traffic at the Port of Mombasa grew 2.4 per cent in the half to June this year, defying challenges experienced during the period that included heavy rains that stalled work at some point.

Data by the port operator, Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), showed that imports accounted for the lion’s share of the throughput at 83.6 per cent, while exports registered 12.5 per cent. Transhipment cargo recorded 3.6 per cent of the total traffic.

The cumulative container traffic during the half saw an increase of 5.3 per cent with the port handling 614,625 containers compared to 583,661 containers during a similar period last year.  

Daniel Manduku acting managing director KPA, said the increase of throughput and container traffic is an indication of vibrant economic activities in the region.

“Numbers give a concise picture and our performance indicators are showing an un-mistakable improvement. The indicators cover productivity and berth occupancy all of which have shown a distinct improvement.” He said.

Other service indicators show a reduction in the number of days it takes to offload cargo from ships at the port. According to the performance report, the average container dwell time was at 3.4 days compared to 3.8 days last year. The dwell time is the period containers stay at the marine terminal upon offloading from the container ship.

Vessels turnaround time was 4.5 days compared to 3.8 days last year during the same month. The drop is attributable to the disruptions during the delivery of port handling equipment in June.