Lumiti Khabuchi:
Kenya Times
December 11, 2007
The Port of Mombasa has recorded a 9.9 per cent cargo growth in the first ten months of this year compared with those of the same period last year, the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) managing director, Abdallah Mwaruwa has reveled.
At the same time, Mwaruwa said container traffic at the port increased by a record 22.3 per cent when the two periods are compared. According to Mwaruwa, total port throughput in the first ten months of this year amounted to 13.16 million tonnes while in the same period last year it was 11.97 million tonnes.
During the same time, the port handled total container throughput of 484,462 TEUs compared with 396,556 TEUs last year. Speaking during this year’s KPA customers and stakeholders annual dinner at a Mombasa hotel, he, however, noted the year has been a difficult one characterised cargo congestion mainly due to poor off-take by roads and rail services.
Kenya Times
December 11, 2007
The Port of Mombasa has recorded a 9.9 per cent cargo growth in the first ten months of this year compared with those of the same period last year, the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) managing director, Abdallah Mwaruwa has reveled.
At the same time, Mwaruwa said container traffic at the port increased by a record 22.3 per cent when the two periods are compared. According to Mwaruwa, total port throughput in the first ten months of this year amounted to 13.16 million tonnes while in the same period last year it was 11.97 million tonnes.
During the same time, the port handled total container throughput of 484,462 TEUs compared with 396,556 TEUs last year. Speaking during this year’s KPA customers and stakeholders annual dinner at a Mombasa hotel, he, however, noted the year has been a difficult one characterised cargo congestion mainly due to poor off-take by roads and rail services.
The port also received a lot of diverted cargo from neighbouring ports which are experiencing high levels of vessel congestion already. Mwaruwa, who thanked customers from neighbouring countries for their faith in the port of Mombasa, also recognised the remarkable average growth rates of 5.5 per cent achieved by the same countries in recent times.
In a speech read on his behalf by the KPA board chairman, Gen (rtd) Joseph Raymond Kibwana, the minister for Transport, Chirau Ali Mwakwere, praised for coming a long way into prosperity. He said this enabled KPA to pay dividends amounting to Sh1.3 billion to the Treasury for the last three years.
The function which was also attended by the Attorney-General, Amos Wako and the Permanent Secretary for Treasury, Joseph Kinyua, was attended by many executives from the port and shipping fraternity in Mombasa and Nairobi.
The chairman of the Kenya Ships Agents Association, James Knight, while appreciating the need for KPA to look for additional revenue to invest in major infrastructural projects, appealed for more time for consultation before the new KPA tariff comes into place on 1st February 2008. He said there are concerns to do with interpretations of the tariff as opposed to actual costs. Knight praised the proposed port expansion and improvement plans that are already in place especially the construction of the second container terminal and harbour channel dredging and widening of the turning basin.
The chairman of the Kenya International Freight and Warehousing Association, Me John Gardner said KPA had succeeded because of involving all stakeholders in discussions and critical decision making processes.
Meanwhile, Mr Kinyua, who earlier attended the Friday stakeholders meeting at the KPA headquarters, said KPA deserved a pat on the back for turning around a poor performing port into excellence in a short period of six years.
He said recent loan of Kshs 16 billion signed between KPA and the Japanese Bank for International Cooperation to build the second container terminal was basically on sound managerial and financial capability of the Authority. Accompanied by the PS for transport, Mr Gerrishon Ikiara, Mr Kinyua underpinned the role played by individual stakeholders in the KPA success and said it augured well for all.
Meanwhile, East African region importers have claimed poor performance at the port of Dar es-Salaam is undermining efforts to ease congestion at the Mombasa port.
The importers said while Mombasa has significantly reduced the number of days that vessels are taking to dock at the port, waiting time remains unchanged at Dar-es-Salaam.
A report compiled by the Inter Governmental Standing Committee on Shipping said what goes on in Dar has a direct impact on Mombasa because there is heavy diversion to Mombasa. These delays are forcing ships to divert to Mombasa, adding to the congestion crisis that the port has been trying to resolve.
The shipping lines now say they will have to introduce the decongestion measures agreed earlier this year upon the expiry of the moratorium period on December 31.
Part of the proposed measures include the introduction of a vessel delay surcharge on the port managers - a move that is expected to increase costs to port users.
Poor performance at the two ports prompted shipping lines to issue a notice of intention to impose a US$201 fine for every extra day that a ship spends waiting to offload its cargo.
The shipping lines said they had been forced to introduce the measure to shield themselves from the losses incurred from extended turnaround times in the two ports. The amount chargeable was to be reviewed and adjusted in tandem with the additional costs accruing to the shipping lines.
It is estimated that failure to reduce congestion at Mombasa port would have forced Kenya Ports Authority to pay $18.8 million to the 21 registered shipping lines this year alone.
Implementation of a 24-hour working schedule in Mombasa has seen congestion ease at the port, saving the management the surcharge penalty.
KPA has also appointed two container freight stations (CFSs) - Consolbase and Mitchell Cotts –as agents to handle new duty- paid local containers.
The port has also set aside berths 13 and 14 for Maersk Line -the world’s biggest shipping line – and talks are on with six local truck companies to have them dedicate some of their trucks to transporting Inland Container Depots-bound cargo through bills of lading arrangement.
Such cargo is currently moved by rail but an acute shortage of wagons has increased the pile-up. It now takes three days to transfer containers from the CFS yard to the container terminus.
In the past five years, KPA has concentrated on upgrading its cargo and marine equipment at the port in a $117 million programme.
Vibrancy in economies of hinterland countries - with average economic growths of 5.6 percent per annum – poses challenges on faster connectivity with the international markets.
Last month, KPA received a $250 million loan from the Japanese Government to more than double the port’s current container handling capacity through construction of a second container terminal, near the existing one.
Under the 10-year project, the port’s harbour channel is to be dredged to an average depth of 15m and the turning basin also widened to enable Mombasa handle larger vessels.
The additional container terminal - to be built on some 100 hectares of land next to the Kipevu Oil Terminal – is expected to handle over 1.2 million units.
On completion in 2018, the project is likely to make Mombasa one of the 20 top ports in the world in terms of performance and reputation.
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African nations urged to harmonise aviation laws
African states should harmonise their aviation regulations to attract financing needed by the continent's carriers to compete in in the gobal market, Nigeria state minister for air transport said on Tuesday.
"I wish to propose the harmonisation of the regulatory framework through the integration of the African aviation systems," Felix Hyat told a meeting of industry leaders and financiers in Nairobi.This, he said, would get rid of obstacles, bottlenecks, and obsolete laws that scare away potential investors. He added that over 65% of the continent's fleets are acquired through financing facilities.
Kenyan Transport Minister Ali Mwakwere said African governments, operators, manufacturers and donor agencies should develop a common plan for financing the growth of the industry.Africa committed to open up its skies to foreign carriers in a 1999 agreement signed in Yamoussoukro, Côte d'Ivoire But airline executives complain that foreign carriers are hurting their businesses.
"The major problem is globalisation. It is putting our small carriers on the same footing as mega carriers of the world for competition," said Christian Folly-Kossi, head of the African Airlines Association.David Savy, the chairperson and chief executive of Air Seychelles, told Reuters the entry of Gulf-based airlines into the African market had led to lower profits and aggressive competition.Africa has become a recruiting ground for many Middle East and some Asian carriers, who lure away pilots, engineers and cabin crew staff trained African airlines, he said."This is an issue because investment is done by African carriers and the fruits are being reaped by predators."
"I wish to propose the harmonisation of the regulatory framework through the integration of the African aviation systems," Felix Hyat told a meeting of industry leaders and financiers in Nairobi.This, he said, would get rid of obstacles, bottlenecks, and obsolete laws that scare away potential investors. He added that over 65% of the continent's fleets are acquired through financing facilities.
Kenyan Transport Minister Ali Mwakwere said African governments, operators, manufacturers and donor agencies should develop a common plan for financing the growth of the industry.Africa committed to open up its skies to foreign carriers in a 1999 agreement signed in Yamoussoukro, Côte d'Ivoire But airline executives complain that foreign carriers are hurting their businesses.
"The major problem is globalisation. It is putting our small carriers on the same footing as mega carriers of the world for competition," said Christian Folly-Kossi, head of the African Airlines Association.David Savy, the chairperson and chief executive of Air Seychelles, told Reuters the entry of Gulf-based airlines into the African market had led to lower profits and aggressive competition.Africa has become a recruiting ground for many Middle East and some Asian carriers, who lure away pilots, engineers and cabin crew staff trained African airlines, he said."This is an issue because investment is done by African carriers and the fruits are being reaped by predators."
Experts say Africa has the world's highest rate of air accidents, while accounting for just 4,5% of global air traffic. - Reuters
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