The volume of the transit cargo handled through the port of Mombasa has grown significantly on the back of the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) renewed push to improve efficiency.
Although Uganda, the biggest transit market for Mombasa port, recorded the lowest growth at 8.2 per cent in the first half of 2024, KPA relied on the other Northern Corridor countries, who are increasingly finding Kenya’s facility more attractive, to record an unprecedented growth of 18.2 per cent in the last six months compared to the same period, last year.
KPA Managing Director Captain William Ruto explained that despite the longer distance for Rwanda and Burundi importers using the Northern Corridor compared to the Central Corridor that serves Dar es Salaam port, the improved performance has seen them prefer using Mombasa port.
Mombasa ship turnaround in May 2024 stood at four days compared to Dar es Salaam, which reached up to 25 days early this year, leading some shipping lines to drop cargo at Mombasa port for transhipment to Tanzania and Indian Ocean islands that rely on Dar Port.
