Cargo owners will be forced to dig deeper into their pockets to vacate their cargos at the Embakasi ICD.

This is after the Kenya Airport Authority yesterday announced that it has resolved to reduce the number of free storage days for import containers from 11 to 4 days.

Kenya Ports Authority MD Catherine Muturi said the move similar to the one at Mombasa deport will encourage importers to hasten collection of their cargo.

Muturi said the storage period for exports and empty containers will however remain at 7 days at the Inland Container Deport at Nairobi.

She said cargo owners will be charged once the free storage period elapses.

“In order to promote the use of the Inland Container Depot Nairobi by Nairobi and Transit clients, who wish to nominate the ICDN as their point of cargo delivery, Kenya Ports Authority has given a rebate reducing the handling charges for SGR cargo by 30 percent,” she said.

Muturi said the handling charges for local import containers for SGR cargo is USD 80 per twenty foot equivalent units down from USD 103, and USD 120 for forty foot equivalent units down from USD157.

She said for transit containers handling charges are USD60 per twenty foot unit and USD90 for forty foot unit.

“I wish to clarify that for ICD containers, the counting for free storage period starts when the containers land at the ICD and not in Mombasa and the shipping lines have been advised accordingly for purposes of charging container demurrage,” she said.

In order to ensure that empty containers are railed promptly we have dedicated one train daily downward to Mombasa to carry empty containers only,” she added.

Muturi said all the current four cargo trains will be expected to carry empty containers since exports are low on the day.

In order to reduce time spent on cargo verification by KRA and custom officials, Muturi said KPA has introduced verification appointments where cargo earmarked for verification is identified and transferred to the verification area in advance.

She said 1700 containers are lying at the Embakasi ICD awaiting collection.

Muturi said the containers have been cleared but owners yet to collect them. She says owners should collect the cargos to free space to handle more cargo.

The MD said the depot initially had a capacity of holding 180,000 containers but has been redesigned to handle 450,000 twenty foot equivalent units.

This she said is enough to store 70 percent of imports that doc at the port of Mombasa.

According to her, KPA has acquired 4new Rail mounted gantry cranes, 8 rubber try gantry cranes, 7reachstackers, 19 terminal tractors, 5 empty container handlers and 16 forklifts between 3-5 ton capacity to enhance stripping and stuffing of containers.

Due to public demand the MD says the number of daily cargo trains has been increased to 4 carrying 108 containers each, ferrying 432 container units daily.

She said plans are under way to increase the number to 12 trains by end of the year.

Source: The Star

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