Finished Sh2.6bn world-class Shimoni fish port handed over to KPA

The Sh2.6 billion Shimoni Fish Port in Kwale County was officially handed over to the Kenya Ports Authority, July 16.

This marked a significant milestone in the journey to harnessing the blue economy.

KPA issued a certificate of completion to the contractors.

Managing director William Ruto said the project, apart from helping locals properly exploit the blue economy, showed Kenya can also depend solely on its expertise to develop a world-class facility.

“The main contractor is a local company, building a landing site and a jetty, which has always been the domain of most of the international companies.

“You are aware that most of the time when we float tenders for such facilities, it is only the international firms that bid,” Ruto said.

He spoke at the Shimoni Fish Port offices during the official handing over of the facility to the authority by the contractor – Southern Engineering Company Ltd (Seco).

The consultant for the project was also a local company, Kiri Consult Limited.

“I am very proud today that it is a Kenyan firm and a Kenyan consultant that delivered this project for us,” Ruto said.

The MD said it is for the benefit of the country that government agencies continue supporting local contractors to build capacity.

The feasibility study for the project started in 2017 with four groups of KPA senior managers benchmarking in Namibia, Spain, the Seychelles and Morocco.

It found it is a viable project that can attract local and international fishing and fish processing firms.

The project officially started in October 2022 and was supposed to be completed within 24 months but took 32.

KPA is keen to support maritime infrastructure development to better exploit the blue economy that largely remains untapped, Ruto said.

“The Shimoni Fish Port represents a unique strategic shift in our approach to port operations, diversifying beyond cargo handling to focus on specialised futuristic infrastructure," Ruto said.

“The port, which is equipped with modern facilities, vessel landing, fish processing and cold storage, will bolster an efficient fisheries value chain."

It is expected to boost the local economy, with local fishermen no longer having to watch their catch go bad.

The cold storage facility can handle up to 200 tonnes of fish daily.

As part of the project, KPA did a corporate social responsibility project of a warehouse where local fishermen will be storing their goods and fish.

Ruto said KPA is now looking for an operator to operationalise the facility, which is expected to take a maximum of six months.

The port has an ice flaking machine capable of producing eight tonnes of ice in a day, which will ensure all fish caught is safely stored for days without going bad.

The cold storage rooms are able to operate up to 20 degrees.

The jetty has a 135-metre length and 30-metre width and 75-metre depth.

The facility is expected to create up to 500 jobs for the locals when it starts operations.

“This facility is state-of-the-art and will be able to meet the market demand of any fishing company that would want to invest in this country,” Ruto said.

Local fishermen will be allowed to use the cold storage rooms at a small affordable fee.

Ruto said already there are fishing firms, local and international, who have already expressed interest in investing in the Shimoni fish port.

Kiri Consult Limited managing director Mungeria Kirimania said the journey was not easy but the project has showed Kenya can handle mega projects using local firms.

It has an underground tank that can store 20,000 litres of water and a water treatment plant that will treat the water before it is released to the sea.

“We want to ensure water we release to the sea is clean,” he said.

The facility also has a fish mill to ensure it collects waste, which can be turned into fertiliser or chicken feed.

Seco’s Abdalla Athman said the Shimoni fishing port will boost Kenya’s economy by attracting investors in the fishing and fish processing sector.

He said the Buy Kenya, Build Kenya is a reality and the port will be able to operate for at least 30 years without any major hurdle.

Athman said it also a proud moment for Kenyan firms having been able to start and complete the project at once without any change of contractors midway as has been witnessed in many other projects.

He said the facility will open up Shimoni which will now become a beehive of activities with domino effects touching on the housing sector, transport sector, financial sector, among others.