Kenya has selected Toyo Construction Co., Ltd. of Japan to undertake the phase two of expansion of the Mombasa port second container terminal, a development that is set to begin next month.

This follows the signing of a Sh35 billion deal between the Kenyan government and its Japanese counterpart for the project that seeks to boost Mombasa port’s container handling capacity.

The funds will be disbursed through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) with Kenya expected to repay the loan over a 40-year period.

According to the Kenya Port Authority, the deal will enable the contractor to kick off works on site before the end of next month.

The project will be completed in 38 months.

Toyo will be required to enlarge the second terminal to enable it handle an extra 450,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), thereby pushing up the port’s capacity to 2.1 million TEUs.

The first segment of the three-phase project was completed in February 2016 at a cost of Sh28 billion, raising the facility’s capacity to nearly 1.7 million TEUs from 1.08 million TEUs.

The second container terminal, which is being built on 100 acres at Kilindini Harbour, is projected to ease congestion at the port of Mombasa. This will enable the facility to fight off growing competition from the port of Dar es Salaam.

Source: Construction Kenya

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