In the picture is the Transport minister Chirau Ali Mwakere (right) is welcomed to the Nyali Beach Hotel by port users to launch the Kenya Ports Authority Customer Service Charter. The organisation is set to begin a project that will open up the port to larger vessels. Photo/ GIDEON MAUNDU_______________
The Government has approved a Sh3.5 billion project by the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) to dredge the Likoni channel, to allow larger vessels to call at the port of Mombasa.
The project which will be done in three phases, is set to begin before the end of the year and run up to 2010.
Although the port has been growing in terms of business and tonnage, there has been a danger of the facility being turned into a feeder port, due to a shallow and narrow channel that cannot allow bigger ships to dock.
Deeper draughts
“The maritime industry is faced with challenges such as rapid growth in container traffic, increasing ship sizes requiring deeper draughts and better equipment, as well as heightened competition between ports,” said the minister for Transport Chirau Ali Mwakwere at the weekend.
He was speaking at a hotel during the launch of the KPA customer service charter.
The port of Mombasa is already faced with stiff competition from the that of Dar es Salaam, which has undertaken major modernisation of its facilities and reduced bureaucracy.
Pegging this
Customers at the Mombasa port have been complaining of delays in clearing goods, pegging this to a poor information flow network, too much paper work and a lethargic staff.
He said there were already plans to construct a second container terminal at the port, and noted that a Japanese company had been identified for the project.
KPA managing director Abdalla Mwaruwa, said the port’s modernisation was already afoot and will see the establishment of the Kilindini Waterfront System, which will automate port operations and reduce cargo clearance time.
“An electronic data interchange system has now been implemented allowing agents to electronically lodge manifest with both KPA and the Kenya Revenue Authority (KPA),” he said. He said the corporation had already taken measures to address various complaints raised by customers, as it moves towards realising its vision to be rated among the top 20 ports in the world.
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Daily Nation
16 April 2007
The project which will be done in three phases, is set to begin before the end of the year and run up to 2010.
Although the port has been growing in terms of business and tonnage, there has been a danger of the facility being turned into a feeder port, due to a shallow and narrow channel that cannot allow bigger ships to dock.
Deeper draughts
“The maritime industry is faced with challenges such as rapid growth in container traffic, increasing ship sizes requiring deeper draughts and better equipment, as well as heightened competition between ports,” said the minister for Transport Chirau Ali Mwakwere at the weekend.
He was speaking at a hotel during the launch of the KPA customer service charter.
The port of Mombasa is already faced with stiff competition from the that of Dar es Salaam, which has undertaken major modernisation of its facilities and reduced bureaucracy.
Pegging this
Customers at the Mombasa port have been complaining of delays in clearing goods, pegging this to a poor information flow network, too much paper work and a lethargic staff.
He said there were already plans to construct a second container terminal at the port, and noted that a Japanese company had been identified for the project.
KPA managing director Abdalla Mwaruwa, said the port’s modernisation was already afoot and will see the establishment of the Kilindini Waterfront System, which will automate port operations and reduce cargo clearance time.
“An electronic data interchange system has now been implemented allowing agents to electronically lodge manifest with both KPA and the Kenya Revenue Authority (KPA),” he said. He said the corporation had already taken measures to address various complaints raised by customers, as it moves towards realising its vision to be rated among the top 20 ports in the world.
____________
Daily Nation
16 April 2007
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