Cargo freights from Mombasa directed to Naivasha depot

Kenya Railways is directing cargo freights from Mombasa to the Naivasha Inland Container Depot for onward transportation to neighbouring countries, Transport CS James Macharia has said.

Macharia says this will boost the movement of goods in the region, which has been hard hit by partial lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The number of trucks operating across the borders has decreased.

The inaugural freight via the standard gauge railway arrived in Mombasa late last week and was received by Macharia accompanied by top officials from the Kenya Ports Authority and the Kenya Railways Corporation.

Most of the cargo is destined to Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Naivasha ICD was officially completed last Friday.

Kenya Railways managing director Phillip Mainga said the corporation will have two initial daily trains hauling up to 108 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUS) and a minimum of 70 TEUS.

Naivasha ICD can hold two million tonnes annually and is intended to reduce congestion at the Nairobi ICD and Mombasa port, cut the number of trucks on the roads and facilitate seamless trans-shipment of goods to neighbouring countries.

Uganda cargo commands more than 80 per cent of the regional transit traffic through the Mombasa port.

Uganda and Rwanda have imposed tough restrictive measures on Kenyan truck drivers, regulations that Kenyan and Tanzanian drivers have rejected.

A number of Covid-19 cases in Uganda are of truck drivers who crossed the border from Kenya.

“We want to contain the spike in the number of truck drivers testing positive for Covid-19 because there will be fewer trucks originating from Mombasa,” Mainga said.

Kenyan cross-border truck drivers were from last week required to obtain a certificate from the Ministry of Health confirming they are Covid-19 free after Uganda and Rwanda accused them of being the weak link in the fight against the virus.

Transport CS Macharia said the Naivasha ICD will increase the rail transport sector’s role in the logistics scene by providing a viable solution to the challenge of limited capacity at the Port of Mombasa and Nairobi ICD.

The Naivasha ICD includes a one-stop centre for ease of operations and efficient services.

It houses all government agencies, involved in the handling of cargo and revenue officers from the partner states of Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania.

In Kampala, Uganda Railways Cooperation operations manager Abobeko Chaki said the increase in operations between the Port of Kisumu and Port Bell in Uganda would improve quality of services and reduce human movement across the two countries to curb the spread of Covid-19.

He said this while receiving 800,000 litres of fuel transported to Port Bell from Kisumu by the MV Uhuru vessel.

“By using railway and water transport system, we will be able to transport up to 17 million litres of fuel at a go and reduce the number of trucks operating between the two countries and minimise the risk of spreading the Covid-19,” Chaki said.

Edited by Henry Makori