Mombasa port’s capacity up with new terminal

The Port of Mombasa’s container handling capacity has increased by 50 per cent. This is as a result of the completion of phase one of the mega second container terminal project.

The container terminal that was commissioned for construction in 2012 was part of the Mombasa Port Development Project (MPDP), a partnership between Kenya and Japan. The idea was to expand the port over three phases.

The first phase has an estimated capacity of 550,000 Twenty Foot Equivalents Units (TEUs) annually. It is expected that upon completion of the other two phases, the terminal will ensure Mombasa port has an additional capacity of 1.5 million TEUs annually.

The new terminal is currently undergoing a series of tests. The overall construction saw two large berths, one measuring 250m and another 300m put up. Also as part of the construction, procurement of two ships to carry gantry cranes was undertaken.

Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia says with the new developments, the Port of Mombasa now joins the league of large container handling ports in Africa.

Mr Macharia added that other supporting infrastructure such as access roads to the port had also been completed. Also, discussions are underway to construct a railway line that would be linked to the main line of the container terminal.

“These projects are in line with the ministry’s agenda of transforming Mombasa into a maritime hub in the region. With the ever growing container and overall port cargo handling, this new terminal will offer the much needed space to match the growth,” said Macharia.

The second phase of the project is on course following the signing of a Sh24 billion loan agreement between Japan International Co-operation Agency and Kenya Ports Authority. The development is scheduled for completion in 2017. The third and last phase of the project is expected to be completed by 2020.