The government has allocated Sh41 billion for expansion of the Port of Mombasa to create more space amid growing cargo volumes.
The port is projected to handle over 2.4 million Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) this year, up from two million TEUs at the end of 2024.
President William Ruto, who spoke during launch of a commuter rail service in the coastal city, said a new yard would be constructed at the Mombasa port from the end of the year to accommodate more cargo.
“We need to match cargo capacity and the infrastructure; that is why we shall be investing more in different port projects in the coming years,” he said.
Already, the Chinese contractor, China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), has moved to the site to demolish the old Kipevu Oil Terminal, which was decommissioned after Kipevu Oil Terminal 2 (KOT2) was completed about two years ago. KOT2 has a capacity to handle four vessels.
Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) intends to expand Terminal 19 to add more than 450 million TEUs capacity by reclaiming the sea after completion of demolition of the old terminal.
KPA Managing Director William Ruto said the management is also working with CFS owners to expand their facilities to handle more cargo, which has remained static for two decades despite increasing cargo flow.
“Apart from port expansion, we are working with other stakeholders, including CFSs, to expand their facilities to accommodate increasing cargo throughput in the country,” Mr Ruto said.
Last year, the port handled about 2.1 million TEUs with a projection to reach 2.4 million TEUs by the end of this year. In-transshipment traffic recorded 491,666 TEUs, reflecting an increase of 132.9 percent (280,593 TEUs) against 2023.
President Ruto said apart from expanding port yards, the government has partnered with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to fund different projects around the port of Mombasa, including the Dongo Kundu Special Economic Zone, to support trade and other trade-related investments in the country.
Afreximbank has ratified a series of initiatives designed to support Kenya’s industrialisation and export-led development agenda by funding Dongo Kundu, Naivasha, and Vipingo SEZs. Under the terms of the initiatives, Afreximbank will finance the development and execution of industrial parks (IPs) and special economic zones (SEZs) to bolster the country’s industrialisation and export manufacturing.
The proposed industrial parks, to be developed by Afreximbank through its affiliate company, Arise Integrated Industrial Platforms (Arise IIP), will create and sustain an environment in which export-oriented industries can thrive by leveraging economies of scale, shared infrastructure, and access to global markets.
The three SEZs are included in the fourth medium term plan (2023-2027) of the Kenyan government’s Vision 2030, which is intended to accelerate Kenya’s capacity to export value-added goods within Africa and globally.
