Kenya: Country to Use Dar Port
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New Vision (Kampala)
28 September 2008
Posted to the web 29 September 2008
Reuben Olita
Nairobi
Kenya would in future consider channeling of its cargo through the Dar es Salaam because the Mombasa Port can no longer cope with capacity of the cargo at the port, Kenya Prime Minister Raila Odinga has said.
"We have a problem at Mombasa. The port handles only 45 containers instead of the expected 2000 containers daily. When it is stretched to the limit, it handles 200 containers," Odinga said.
Odinga, who was touring Dar es Salaam port last week, said the port was performing below capacity and needs support from elsewhere.
The PM who was in Dar es Salaam at the invitation of the Tanzanian Government, was taken around on a guided tour of the port by his Tanzanian counterpart Mizenga Pindo and the Tanzanian Ports Authority (TPA) officials, to acquaint himself with its operations.
He called for the port of Mombasa to be made a free port zone. Odinga also wants the former East African railways and harbours to be revived. He said it was crucial to revive the railway system in Kenya to ease the transportation of the bulk of the cargo.
"Mombasa is the gateway to our country and any hindrances at the port affect our national economy," he said.
The Port of Dar es Salaam handles relatively less cargo than Mombasa.
The Dar es Salaam container terminal has three berths with a total quay length of 540 metres with a capacity to handle 250,000 TEUs per annum. The port covers about 18 hectares with 12,000 square metres of paved area and slot capacity of 6,255 TEUs. It has modified railway tracks run by the Tanzania Zambia Railway Authority and Tanzania Railways Corporation.
Odinga also inspected the automated weighbridges and the port's two oil terminals.
He said his visit was a learning experience. and to assess the possibility of any ventures in the sector between the two countries.
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The TPA officials said plans were underway to build bridges and modernize the port to ease transportation of cargo.
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