LOGISTICS & DISTRIBUTION
a capacity of 4,000 tonnes compared to the current 1,000-tonne trains .
With the launch of the SGR line , which has been built by China Road and Bridges Corporation as part of China ’ s ‘ One belt , One Road ’ initiative , the frequent congestion at the port of Mombasa is expected to ease as cargo and containers would now be cleared much faster .
“ The commissioning of the freight train service anticipates a significant improvement in cargo off-take from the Port of Mombasa to the Nairobi Inland Container Depot ,” says Catherine Mturi-Wairi , Managing Director of Kenya Ports Authority , which operates the Port of Mombasa . Equally , transfer of most bulk cargo to the SGR will markedly decongest the roads .”
The modernised $ 212mn Nairobi Inland Container Depot , which was opened for business on December 16 , has an expanded annual capacity of 450,000 TEUs , up from the previous 180,000 TEUs .
Mombasa ’ s annual cargo throughput is estimated to have grown by 5.7 % annually for the last five years to 27.36mn tonnes in 2016 , up from the 21.92mn recorded in 2012 . During the same period , container traffic grew by 4.8 % to 1.09mn TEUs in 2016 from the 903,463 TEUs recorded in 2012 .
“ This growth was significantly supported by Uganda destined cargo which grew by 7.1 % over the same period ,” adds Mturi-Wairi .
Kenya ’ s President Uhuru Kenyatta , who opened the Nairobi ICD , says : “ The high speed , high capacity and efficient SGR network will serve as an important link between the port of Mombasa and the Nairobi Inland Container Depot .
“ The new SGR line will enable the evacuation of cargo directly from the port of Mombasa for clearance at the Nairobi Inland Container Depot .”
The freight train service is expected to reduce the cost of doing business in East Africa as it will bring down the charges for transporting a TEU or 20-tonne container .
“ It currently costs $ 1,200 to ship a 20-tonne container from Japan to the Port of Mombasa – yet it costs $ 2,500 to move the same container from the port to Uganda ’ s capital Kampala and it could be as expensive as $ 4,500 to Rwanda ’ s capital Kigali ,” Kenyatta explains .
The period of time taken to transport
52 February 2018