- China State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi will hold bilateral consultations and participate in a ministerial roundtable meeting with Kenya’s CSs.
- Omamo and Yi will hold a joint press briefing at the Sarova Whitesands Hotel at around 10am after the signing of the key bilateral agreements.
Image: LABAN WALLOGA
Kenya and People’s Republic of China will on Thursday sign several bilateral agreements at the State House in Mombasa.
President Uhuru Kenyatta is expected to host China State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Coastal town, before the signing of the key bilateral agreements.
Later in the day, Uhuru and Yi will tour the Port of Mombasa for the inspection of the Sh40 billion new Kipevu Oil Terminal, which has been constructed by China Communication Construction Company.
In a statement to newsrooms, Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Raychelle Omamo said Yi’s visit is part of the two countries' efforts to strengthen long-standing bilateral relations.
“The visit will give the two countries an opportunity to enhance bilateral relations by signing several agreements,” Omamo said.
The two countries will discuss the implementation of the outcome of the eighth Ministerial Conference on the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation held in Dakar, Senegal from November 28-30 last year.
During his two-day official visit to Kenya, Yi will also hold bilateral consultations and participate in a ministerial roundtable meeting with a number of Kenya’s Cabinet secretaries.
Omamo and Yi will hold a joint press briefing at the Sarova Whitesands Hotel at 10am after the signing of the bilateral agreements.
“The visit will further cement the comprehensive strategic cooperation partnership between Kenya and China,” Omamo said.
After the morning events, Yi will join Uhuru for the inspection of the new Kipevu Oil terminal.
The new terminal is an offshore facility located at the Port of Mombasa, opposite to the existing one.
The project consists of one offshore island terminal with four berths whose total length is 770m and one work boat wharf at Westmont area for landing facilities.
It also has five sub-sea pipelines buried 26 metres under the seabed to allow for future dredging of the channel without interfering with the pipes.
Once complete, the new oil terminal facility will have four berths capable of handling six different hydrocarbon import and export products.
It is also fitted with a Liquified Petroleum Gas facility, crude oil and heavy fuel oil. It has provisions for handling three types of white oil products (aviation fuel, diesel and petrol).
The terminal will for a start accommodate three ships concurrently with a capacity of 200,000 tonnes each.
Kenya Ports Authority acting managing director John Mwangemi said the new oil terminal will effectively replace the old Kipevu Oil Terminal on the mainland Port Reitz, which was built in 1963.
The old facility is a single jetty with a capacity to accommodate only one vessel at any given time.
“The new terminal which is faster and modern, will have various benefits to the economies of the region, including reduced vessel turn-around time from four to two days,” Mwangemi said.
It will guarantee security of supply for the region, significant reduction in demurrage costs and reduced freight costs owing to improved cargo handling capacities and leverages associated with larger economies of scale.
He added that the facility will enhance the LPG importation, which will lead to possible reduction of LPG costs and more LPG uptake in the country.
“The customers will benefit from economies of scale as bigger vessels call the port with reduced freight,” he said.
-Edited by SKanyara