Cargo handling capacity at the Port of Mombasa is set to increase to Sh2.5 million containers by 2018 with the ongoing expansion of the facility.
Kenya Ports Authority Managing Director Gichiri Ndua says completion of the first phase of the second container terminal will boost capacity by an additional half a million containers to the current Sh1.2 million containers.
The first phase is set to be completed within two months.
In an effort to deal with the rising cargo at East Africa’s gateway port, the Kenya Ports Authority embarked on major expansion projects at the Port of Mombasa.
Construction of the second container terminal which started in 2012 is set to increase the port’s annual capacity by a million twenty-foot equivalent unit.
The port currently handles 1.2 containers annually.
At a cost of Sh60 billion, the first phase of the second container terminal is almost complete and will be operational by within three months.
Kenya Ports Authority Managing Director Gichiri Ndua says the second phase of the project with an additional capacity of 550,000 containers will commence next year. The terminal is being constructed on a 100-acre of reclaimed land from the Indian Ocean.
He says with streamlined operations at the Port of Mombasa and use of technology in cargo handling, capacity could further rise to three million containers by 2019.
Ndua says the Kenya Ports Authority will soon tender for the relocation of the Kipevu Oil Terminal to create space for containers.