KPA resumes cargo handling for Indian Ocean islands

By PATRICK BEJA

Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) has resumed handling trans-shipment cargo to the Indian Ocean Islands, with the exception of those destined for Dar-es-Salaam and Zanzibar.

An inter-ministerial meeting on the 24-hour port operation at the KPA headquarters last Thursday, noted that sufficient space has been created at Mombasa port container terminal to allow handling of the cargo.

Transport PS Adulrazaq Ali chaired the meeting. KPA Managing Director James Mulewa said the current container population at the port stands at 14,600 Twenty Equivalent Units (Teus) down from 19,282 teus in January.

KPA managers reported that a greater percentage of transshipment cargo belongs to Dar-es-Salaam and Zanzibar and that handling the goods would resume later after more space has been created.

Ali urged port stakeholders to aim higher in order to increase ship turnaround, cargo off-take and general efficiency.

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international trade

"The port is an international institution and its activities affect international trade, hence all issues concerning its efficiency must be taken seriously," the PS said.

KPA suspended handling transshipment cargo in July, after experiencing capacity constraints following the implementation of the Kilindini Waterfront Automated Terminal Operation cargo clearance system.

The Sh450 million computerised system failed to stabilise in time, forcing the Government to introduce 24-hour port operations to resolve congestion, which threatened to paralyse the port.

Members at the meeting said customers response to cargo clearance at night was low.

The PS asked members to reach out to the main cargo interveners and encourage them to take advantage of the extended hours to clear cargo and decongest the port.

He commended KPA, Kenya Revenue Authority, Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service, Immigration Department and Kenya Bureau of Standards for working round the clock and challenged clearing and forwarding agents to embrace the new system.

During the meeting, it was observed that deliveries by road, following the implementation of round the clock operations has increased from 600 teus in August to 1100 teus. However, off-take of containers was reported to be low as a lot of cargo remained at the port long after clearance.