Kenyans can expect lower costs and greater ease in doing business from massive synchronised transport projects in Mombasa, says Transport CS James Macharia.
Calling them “game changers,” he cited construction of the second container terminal at the Mombasa port, ongoing construction of airport road and the standard gauge railway.
“We cannot concentrate on the standard gauge railway alone. Projects have to be synchronised.We want to ensure as we launch the SGR on June 1, roads are also in place,” he said on Wednesday.
Decongesting Mombasa
Macharia toured the construction of the Sh6 billion airport road, the second container terminal, the SGR marshalling site, Mombasa West SGR terminal and the Dongo Kundu bypass.
These are part of a three-phase plan to de-congest Mombasa by 2018. The airport road will ease both entry and exit to Mombasa.
“One cannot talk about an airport without roads,” he said.
The state has settled on compensation worth Sh1.7 billion, while the remaining Sh800 million will be paid as soon as beneficiaries are identified,” Macharia said.
At the container terminal, Kenya Ports Authority MD Catherine Mturi-Wairi joined Macharia.
Roads, sea ports, railway and airports are critical in improving business.
More containers
Macharia said two years ago, only 800,000 containers were handled at the terminal, which can now hold 1.6 billion.
With completion of phase two, it is projected to hit 2.1 billion.
Phase one of the terminal was constructed for Sh27 billion. Macharia said Kenya is ranked fourth in the world in handling cargo.
Mturi said the investments have been done strategically.
“We are handling 1,300 containers a day. With the SGR, we will handle more because one train will carry 423 containers, bringing the much-needed efficiency,” she said.
Robust measures are being put in place in collaboration with the Kenya Revenue Authority to curb smuggling of contraband.
The government will ensure once containers arrive at the port, they are declared at sea before docking and documents cleared fast enough to give room to other containers.
The Transport ministry is focusing on the SGR power supply, water, expedition of land acquisition and security.
Over borrowing
The CS dismissed claims the country is overborrowing, saying the benefits have already been felt. Critics say borrowing has shot up unsustainably. Macharia denied the SGR is too expensive compared to the one constructed in Ethiopia.
SGR’s Sh327 million phase one stretches 472km from Nairobi to Mombasa. Ethiopia’s first fully electrified cross-border railway line in Africa, linking the capital Addis Ababa to the Red Sea port of Djibouti — more than 750km —cost Sh340 billion.
The CS said Kenya’s SGR is class one while Ethiopia’s is class two.
“We carry more load compared to our counterparts. The speed is also fast,” he said, adding that 60 students have been trained in SGR operation.
The curriculum for railway training is being put to use.
Eight hundred wagons and 40 passenger coaches have been received ahead of the June 1 launch.
Macharia assured truck drivers they will not lose business because the 580km Lamu-Garissa-Isiolo road provides them with opportunities.
“The SGR will remove 40 per cent of cargo from roads, helping us with road maintenance,” he said.
Some 22 million tonnes will be carried using the SGR every year.
Source: The Star
 

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