WASHINGTON: Container traffic through Kenya’s biggest port grew by 7.5 per cent in 2015. This is after new cargo-handling infrastructure was built, shortening the turnaround time for ships, port management said on Tuesday.
The Indian Ocean port of Mombasa, the biggest in east Africa and the region’s trade gateway, handles imports of fuel and consumer goods and exports of tea and coffee from landlocked neighbours, such as Uganda and South Sudan. Its traffic considered a measure for economic activity in east Africa.
Acting managing director Catherine Muturi told a news conference in Mombasa that the port handled 26.7 million tonnes of cargo between January and December 2015, compared with 24.88 million tonnes handled during a similar period in 2014.
Container traffic increased by 6.3 per cent to 1,076,118 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 2015 from 1,012,002 TEUs registered in 2014. “Although this performance falls short of our target of 1.1 million TEUs for last year, it is a manifestation that the port traffic is growing at a fast rate,” Muturi said.
Imports totalled 22.68 million tonnes, an increase of 9.2 per cent from the 20.77 million tonnes handled in 2014. Exports also increased by five per cent to 3.53 million tonnes from 3.37 million tonnes in 2014.
