The national government is rolling out plans to ensure efficiency on the Northern Corridor which runs from the Port of Mombasa to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
State Department for East African Community PS Abdi Dubat said the government plans to decongest the Port of Mombasa and the Northern Corridor by instilling discipline, professionalism and multi-agency coordination streams among competent authorities, agencies and other stakeholders.
The Corridor, which runs from the Port of Mombasa, through Nairobi, to Malaba, Busia, and Kampala in Uganda, with a branch to Juba in South Sudan, Kigali in Rwanda, and Goma and Kisangani in the DRC, plays a bigger role in supporting and accelerating the economies of East African Community.
It is a multimodal trade route encompassing; road, rail, pipeline and inland waterways transport, and it is one of the busiest corridors on the continent handling over 30 million metric tonnes of cargo annually.
“It is due to the importance of this transport artery that our government has prioritised its efficiency and has come up with innovative initiatives geared towards strengthening its utility value in the economic prosperity of our country and the region,” Dubat said.
In a statement on Wednesday, Dubat said the ultimate goal is to ensure efficiency, attainment of a facilitative transport and transit Corridor and a secure transport system that is not only predictable but also reliable, affable and effusive.
He highlighted several policy steps that have already been undertaken to make the corridor an efficient gateway to East and Central Africa.
These steps include the reduction of roadblocks, operationalisation of Electronic Drivers’ and Cargo Tracking System (EDCTS), use of Virtual and Weighing-in-Motion Weighbridges; operationalisation of One-Stop Border Posts (OSBPs) at Malaba; Busia; Katuna-Gatuna; Nemba-Gasenyi; Elegu-Nimule and Mpondwe borders.
Other strategies are the recalibration of the allowable axle-load limit and the establishment of the Public and Private Sector Port of Mombasa and Northern Corridor Community Charter which in itself is a constellation and a confluence of stakeholders who are all geared toward making the corridor efficient.
He added that the national government will continue working with stakeholders to ensure that the Northern Corridor attains world-class efficiency in the short term, while simultaneously addressing any drawbacks that have impacted on its efficiency including delays at points of entry, cargo theft, procrastination and other malevolent externalities.
These are being undertaken in cognisance of the fact that a Corridor system refers to the multiplicity of transport streams including railways, road networks, and pipelines.
“The object here is to create seamless interoperability between these streams leading to an all-weather inter-modal transport and transit system that is efficient, effective and fit for the purpose,” said Dubat.
“Such an integrated and agentive system will spur economic growth and engender the EAC project that is beneficial, forward-looking and hopeful.”
He said there are also plans to connect the Northern Corridor to the Lamu Port South Sudan and Ethiopia Transport Corridor (Lapsset).
“This will facilitate the seamless use of the two corridors and provide users with competing and equally efficient alternatives,” he said.
