Economy

KRA to install scanners at SGR stations to monitor cargo

wagons

Port workers witness the offloading of a cabin wagon at the Port of Mombasa, March 21, 2017. PHOTO | LABAN WALLOGA | NMG

Cargo scanners will be installed at some stations along the Standard Gauge Railway line, Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) said on Tuesday.

John Bisonga, the regional chief manager for customs and border control, said the scanners would be used to monitor cargo ferried by SGR trains.

The SGR cargo trains are set to begin operating between Mombasa and Nairobi on June 1.

It is expected that four trains will each haul 200 containers each day, with the trip between the port and the capital taking eight hours.

Two passenger trains will move an estimated 1,000 people daily in just four and half hours.

“The number of containers that will be transported using the trains is huge and we will need to ensure there is proper surveillance. Drive-through scanners will also be installed along the SGR route,” he said.

He spoke at the Pride Inn Beach Resort, Shanzu, during a sensitisation workshop for journalists based in Mombasa.

Seven stations

There are seven stations between Mombasa and Nairobi; at Mariakani, Miasenyi, Voi, Mtito Andei, Kibwezi, Emali and Athi River.

Although Mr Bisonga did not state the amount of money KRA had set aside for the project, he said already, plans were underway to ensure scanners were also installed at the Embakasi Inland Container Depot (ICD) where the cargo will be stored.

The ICD occupies 29 hectares of land and has a stacking yard with an annual capacity of more than 180,000 Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (Teus).

The Sh22-billion facility will handle big volumes of cargo and is expected to play a crucial role in the efficiency of the SGR, projected to handle more than 40 per cent of the 1.1 million Teus of cargo passing through Mombasa port each year.

Mr Bitonga said they had drawn a strategy to guide operations of ICDs in the advent of huge amounts of cargo being stored in the facilities.

“Part of the strategy involves improving customer experience through identification of simple processes that make it easier for taxpayers to comply, such as processing of clearance documentation before the goods are received at the facility to ensure an expedited release process,” he said.

“We will also use Automatic Container Number Readers at the rail exit and entry points to effectively manage cargo stocks and encourage use of the Authorised Economic Operators (AEO),” added.

Track record

KRA’s AEO programme entails identification and profiling of importers who have a good track record and having their goods undergo minimal checks to fasten clearance.

Emmaculate Njeru, the business manager for trade and facilitation said there are 108 importers on the current list of AEOs, two of whom are tea exporters.

“The programme is intended to facilitate trade and companies listed in the AEO use the status to market their firms as credible and trustworthy,” she said.

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