Kenya Ports Authority is eyeing a bigger share of transit cargo business in East Africa’s hinterland, riding on liaison offices and investment in key port facilities.

This comes amid growth in transit traffic, albeit by a small margin of 4.2 per cent in the first half of this year, with an overall strong performance at the main Mombasa harbour.

During the period January–June, transit traffic increased by 216,985 tonnes to record 5.41 million tonnes against 5.19 million tonnes handled in the same period in 2022.

South Sudan and DRC recorded major growths of 394,548 tonnes or 72.4 per cent and 368,105 tonnes or 89.8 per cent, respectively.

Tanzania recorded a growth of 42,693 tonnes or 38.4 percent with volumes to Rwanda going up by 67,874 tones or 39.5 percent, to 239, 714 tonnes, compared to 171,840 tonnes in 2022.

In the year 2022, overall transit traffic grew to 10.23 million tonnes against 9.54 million tonnes recorded the previous year.

KPA managing director, Captain William Ruto, now says the authority is on course to open a liaison office in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which joined the East African Community last year.

It already has offices in Uganda (Kampala), Rwanda (Kigali) and Burundi (Bujumbura), which have proved to be useful in facilitating import and export business through the Port of Mombasa.

During the period January to June this year, the port handled 18.06 million tonnes against 17.48 million tonnes in a similar period in 2022, representing an increment of 584,554 tonnes or 3.3 per cent.

In the same period, Mombasa witnessed increased volumes in container traffic registering 783,125 TEUs against 722,063 TEUs handled in 2022.

The authority is keen to ensure Mombasa remains the preferred port facility in the region, amid growing competition from Tanzania’s Dar es Salaam port.

Two major corridors serve the EAC hinterland with the main one being the 1,700 kilometre long Northern Corridor that runs between Mombasa (Kenya), Uganda Rwanda, Burundi and Eastern DRC.

The 1,300 kilometre long Central Corridor serves Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and Eastern D.R. Congo, with an exit and entry point at the port of Dar-es-Salaam.

Uganda is the biggest transit market for Kenya, accounting for 83.2 per cent of transit cargo.

South Sudan takes up 9.9 per cent while DR Congo, Tanzania and Rwanda account for 7.2 per cent, 3.2 per cent and 2.4 per cent respectively.

Mombasa has lost about 10 per cent of transit business to Dar es Salaam in the last two years, industry data by the Shippers Council of Eastern Africa (SCEA) shows, even as Kenya remains the main trade route in the region.

“Mombasa used to command up to 70 per cent of business but this has gone down to about 61 or 60 per cent. We are working towards regaining that,” SCEA chief executive and the Mombasa Port and Northern Corridor Community Charter chair, Gilbert Lang’at, told the Star.

While the government has invested in ports, rail and road infrastructure to enable the smooth flow of cargo, there have been delays, multiple road user charges, cross-border charges and other Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) that affect cargo movement.

Ruto who was in Kigali last week, to mark 10 years since opening the KPA liaison office, assured the region of improved port services, amid the expansion of facilities to create capacity ahead of demand, and modernisation of cargo handling equipment.

The construction of the Second Container Terminal (CT2) at Mombasa has increased the port’s annual capacity by one million TEUs, with the port now boasting of a total 2.1 million TEUs annual container capacity.

The Nairobi and Naivasha Inland Container Depots complement cargo handling and movement along the Northern Corridor.

KPA also runs the Kisumu Port, which Ruto termed “an important hub for the East African Community trade.”

“The port is conveniently situated for cargo destined for certain regions of Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi. Its focus is on cargo handling from a demand and revenue potential perspective,” said Ruto.

At the Naivasha dry port, the Kenyan government has allocated land to regional states to ease exporting and importing via the Port of Mombasa, with the Standard Gauge Railway the main mode of movement.

SGR takes 10 hours from Mombasa to Naivasha saving clients for instance those in Uganda, about 18 hours.

Kenya has been encouraging the neighbouring countries to use the SGR freight service from Mombasa to Nairobi and Naivasha ICDs.

Kenya Railways has also rehabilitated the old Meter Gauge Railway all the way to Malaba, which comes in handy in saving time and costs.

Due to the linkage with the SGR freight service, the port has become a cheaper alternative for the shipment of goods to the hinterland.

Cargo destined for Western parts of Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Eastern DRC and South Sudan can be moved by SGR to Naivasha for onward movement to Malaba, then picked by road to the final destinations.