Berth 19 at the port of Mombasa. Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) will commission the berth by April. Photo/FILE
What you need to know:
Construction work on berth 19 with an annual capacity of 200,000 20-foot equivalent container units (TEUs) would be tested and inspected before the launch.
The extra capacity is expected to boost operations at the port that is currently witnessing increased traffic, driven by improved economic activity in neighbouring countries that depend on it for exports and imports.
The Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) will commission an additional berth at Mombasa port by next month raising hope among traders of faster clearance of goods.
The agency said Tuesday construction work on berth 19 with an annual capacity of 200,000 20-foot equivalent container units (TEUs) would be tested and inspected before the launch.
“The 240 metre long berth is expected to boost container handling operations at the port to considerable levels after the handing over to the Kenya Ports Authority at the end of March,” the parastatal said in a statement.
The new berth will see ship quay area at the port container terminal extended to 840 metres and the container staking yard increased by about 15 acres. The new berth has been under construction since July 2011.
The extra capacity is expected to boost operations at the port that is currently witnessing increased traffic, driven by improved economic activity in neighbouring countries that depend on it for exports and imports.
“With the additional quay length, the Mombasa Container Terminal will now be able to handle longer vessels, providing significant advantage over other regional ports,” KPA said.
Apart from Kenya, it handles cargo to and from Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia.
Container traffic through the port grew by 9.9 per cent last year, statistics by KPA showed. The port handled 21.92 million tonnes of cargo in the 12 months to the end of December 2012, up from 19.95 million tonnes handled during the same period in 2011.
Like other sea port operators in Africa, KPA is experiencing growing strains on their infrastructure following a sharp increase in the size of ships calling on their ports.
A recent survey by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development showed that between July 2004 and July 2010 alone the average vessel size grew by 65 per cent. The size grew further in 2012, a trend that is reflective of the surge in global trade volumes in the last few years.
Mombasa port also recently underwent dredging, creating room for bigger vessels to call on it.
Dutch firm Van Oord Dredging and Marine Contractors in 2012 deepened the Kilindini Harbour channel by 15 metres and widened it to 500 metres to accommodate larger vessels.
Last year, the port hosted MSC Jade, the largest ship ever to sail through Kilindini Harbour. The vessel, owned by Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), has a cargo carrying capacity of 3,000 TEUs and is 241 metres long.
Another large ship, 244-metre-long MSC Roberta, also docked at the port last year where it discharged 1,712 TEUs of cargo and loaded another 3,950 TEUs of cargo.
Previously, the port accommodated ships with an average length of 200 metres and 2,000 TEUs. The deeper channel will allow the port to handle ships of up to 4,500 TEUs.
Meanwhile, traffic continued to improve at the port following nearly a week of depressed activity after the General Election last week.
The authority said that the port on Monday handled a total of 1,165 TEUs, of which 569 TEUs were transit containers destined for neighbouring countries.
