Kenya Port Authority is expecting a further increased traffic of both imports and transit goods. Managing director Gichiri Ndua said last week that business is picking up at the port after a decline during and after the March 4 elections.
According to Ndua, the total through put of the first quarter stands at 7.0 against 7.4 tons registered in the same period in 2012. Speaking during a press briefing at the port, Ndua attributed the decline to reduced business activities during the country's elections.
Kenya Port Authority is expecting a further increased traffic of both imports and transit goods. Managing director Gichiri Ndua said last week that business is picking up at the port after a decline during and after the March 4 elections.
According to Ndua, the total through put of the first quarter stands at 7.0 against 7.4 tons registered in the same period in 2012. Speaking during a press briefing at the port, Ndua attributed the decline to reduced business activities during the country's elections.
"The trend is expected to even out as business is slowly going back to normalcy. Already April has shown a major growth from March performance and so is May. The container traffic was 74,000 Twenty Foot Equivalent unit (TEUs) compared to 76,000 in 2012," said Ndua.
He said the average turnaround time for vessels has improved to three days compared to the previous four days. Ndua also announced the completion of the construction of berth 19 which was launched in July.
He said the berth which is waiting commissioning will help boost efficiency at the port by improving ship turnaround. "Construction of berth number 19 is complete. Consequently the current container terminal quay is 840 meters long up from the previous 600 meters.
The port can therefore comfortably berth three ships with an average length of 250 metres," said Ndua. He said construction of the second container terminal which was commissioned last year is almost complete.
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