Kenya: Second Container Terminal in Mombasa Takes Shape

The Kenya Ports Authority has substantially progressed construction of the 1.2 million TEU capacity second Container Terminal as part of its continued efforts to expand capacity ahead of demand.

The project which was commissioned in 2012 is 34 per cent complete with phase one scheduled to be ready by 2015. Its main objective is to expand container handling capacity of the port of Mombasa in order to match future trends, stay competitive in cargo handling and facilitate economic development in the Eastern and Central Africa region.

The new container terminal west of the current Container Terminal is being constructed on 100 hectares of reclaimed land and will have three berths that measure 230, 320 and 350 meters. Dredging is being carried out to depths of -15 meters for the main quay length of 670 meters, -12m for quay length of 230 meters, -11 meters for quay length of 210 meters and -4.5 meters for quay length of 83 meters.

The first phase involves the construction of two berths for Post-Panama vessels of 60,000 DWT and Panama container ships of 20,000 DWT as well as a smaller berth. The 1.2 million TEU Terminal will increase the current overall port capacity by 15 million tons.

In 2012, the port of Mombasa handled a total of 21.92 million tons up from 19.95 million tons in 2011, a growth of 9.9 per cent. Container traffic rose to 903,463 TEUs from 770,804 TEUs handled in 2011, an increase of 17.2 per cent. In the same period, transit traffic realized a growth of 18.4 per cent, registering 6.63 million tons from 5.60 million tons in 2011.

The Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) management is upbeat and anticipates an upward growth especially now that the country is through with National elections. It is projected that close to a million TEUs will be handled at the end of 2013 and a total throughput of about 22 million tons.

The Authority projects to handle approximately 27 million tons total throughput and 1.3 TEUs by 2016.

[mappress]

Press Release, May 3, 2013