The opening of a new container terminal at the port of Mombasa is an important step that should improve efficiency at the facility and help to boost regional trade.

The cost of the project — Sh30 billion — represents a significant outlay in public resources and it is essential that port managers offer taxpayers good returns on their investment.

There are many significant infrastructural projects under way linked to the port, not least the expansion of the pipeline system, the construction of a new Sh27 billion container terminal in addition to the one commissioned on Saturday and perhaps, most significantly, the multi-billion-shilling Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) project.

If managed wisely, these projects have the potential to offer significant economic benefits to Kenya and the region.

These will only be realised if the leadership at the Kenya Ports Authority, in particular, can harness the significantly enhanced capacity at the port and the expected additional capacity that will be created by the SGR to improve efficiency.

It is a requirement under the contract of the new railway that a set amount of cargo will have to be handled by the SGR, for example, and it is to be hoped that the Transport ministry and the managers at the port are working hard to prepare for the implementation of that requirement.

The raw numbers are certainly impressive. The new terminal will be able to berth four ships of up to 100,000 tons — used to measure cargo capacity — at the same time, a significant jump from previous numbers.

However, the key test will be whether consumers will see the benefits of lower prices for key goods and whether the KPA, in particular, can shake off the reputation for lethargic and inefficient management which it has borne for too long.
Source: Daily Nation