Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) joins the Shippers Council of East Africa and have resolved to implement a raft of measures to improve efficiency and enhance competitiveness of the Port of Mombasa.
During the engagement forum at a Nairobi hotel, the participants agreed to devise new ways to resolve some of the infrastructural and operational constraints that have been experienced, owing to growing cargo volumes.
Managing Director Captain William Ruto emphasised the need for industry stakeholders to find common long-lasting solutions to the challenges terming them “a shared responsibility in the port ecosystem” when he addressed the umbrella body that represents the interests of shippers.
Captain Ruto has further outlined a raft of initiatives by Kenya Ports Authority and other partner government agencies in this strategy that aims at streamlining port operations.
His statement was echoed by the Chief Executive of shippers’ council of East Africa Agayo Ogambi who noted that the Port of Mombasa continues to demonstrate strong performance and reliability.
Key work among these is port expansion to increase capacity to handle cargo with the rehabilitation of berth 19B which is currently underway. The Authority is also constructing a yard that will be solely utilised for effective management of empty containers at the port.
In the areas of ICT, KPA is upgrading its terminal operating system to optimise cargo handling and movement as well as automating gates 23 and 24 to eliminate manual checks and inspection processes at port entry and exit points. This is a pilot project which will be replicated for the entire port.
With cargo volumes hitting 45.45 million metric tons last year, equipment acquisition has become a matter of priority as KPA intends to procure various equipment to shore up cargo handling and evacuation capabilities.
SCEA Chairman John Msafari underscored the crucial role of the engagements saying that the coordination is critical for the attainment of efficiency at the port.
Later in a separate engagement with Fresh Produce Exporters, the KPA MD affirmed the government commitment to unlock the potential of the sector by effectively facilitating export cargo to the overseas markets.
The session provided shippers an opportunity to engage directly with KPA management and openly discuss operational challenges at the Port of Mombasa and collectively identify practical solutions to ease congestion, improve port efficiency and enhance seamless movement of cargo.