An economist and the Mombasa senator have raised fears the county will be losing at least Sh40 billion in revenue annually once the Naivasha dry port becomes operational.

The government has directed all un-nominated containers belonging to upcountry importers transported on the SGR to the Inland Container Depot in Embakasi, Nairobi, for final clearance.

Director of Stratton Consulting Ltd Johnson Ngila said of the 30 million tonnes of imports through the Kenya Ports Authority last year, 70 per cent was local cargo, the rest on transit.

“Ninety per cent of local cargo was for Nairobi and its environs. This means the Naivasha port will really be taking a lot of cargo from Mombasa,” he said.

“This is good for the general economy but for Mombasa, it might have adverse effects depending on how businesses reorganise themselves to manage the disruption that will eventually happen because of the dry port.”

He spoke on Friday in Mombasa at a breakfast meeting organised by Senator Mohamed Faki.

Ngila said the three SGR cargo trains that transport 300 containers daily, eliminating an equal number of trucks from the roads.

“On average, the best we see the SGR doing this year is about 300,000 containers. And looking at the standard and average cost of ferrying a container to Nairobi, it will translate to about Sh21 billion in terms of lost businesses for truck owners,” Ngila said.

The director said the Container Freight Stations in Mombasa will lose the same number of containers and about Sh12 billion fetched from the trade if cargo was to be cleared from the county.

The negative effects of the SGR are already being felt in Mombasa.

A tax and financial expert, and Mombasa Senator Mohamed Faki say the county is likely to lose at least Sh40 billion annually once the Naivasha dry port becomes fully operational.

The state has directed all un-nominated containers belonging to upcountry importers be transported via SGR to the Inland Container Depot in Embakasi, Nairobi, for final clearance.

Tax and financial expert Johnson Ngila said of the 30 million tonnes of imports through the Kenya Ports Authority last year, 70 per cent was local cargo, the rest in transit. “Ninety per cent of local cargo was for Nairobi and environs. This means the Naivasha port will really be taking a lot of cargo from Mombasa,” he said.

“This is good for the general economy but for Mombasa, it might have adverse effects depending on how businesses reorganise themselves to manage disruption that will eventually happen because of the dry port.”

He spoke on Friday in Mombasa at a breakfast meeting organised by Senator Faki.

Ngila said the three SGR cargo trains transporting 300 containers daily eliminate an equal number of trucks from the roads. “On average, the best we see the SGR doing this year is about 300,000 containers. And looking at the standard and average cost of ferrying a container to Nairobi, it will translate to about Sh21 billion in terms of lost businesses for truck owners,” Ngila said.

He said Container Freight Stations in Mombasa will lose the same number of containers and about Sh12 billion trade if cargo was cleared from the county. “For logistics sector, we are looking at a disruption of about Sh40 billion taken out of Mombasa, including buses and other supporting sectors like clearing and forwarding,” he said.

Faki said the negative effects of the SGR are already being felt. “Clearing agents and transporters are relocating because they have no cargo to transport,” he said.

The senator said there has been no input from the government in building infrastructure for the Special Economic Zone in Dongo Kundu.

Faki said the zones will be an alternative source of revenue after “Naivasha port and Embakasi Inland Container Depot disrupt the county’s economy.” He said no investor has been attracted to the SEZ.

“The SEZ will bring new businesses that will enjoy preferential tax regime for income tax,” he said. Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho has been fighting the dry port in Naivasha. He said jobs will be lost. This has placed him on a collision course with President Uhuru Kenyatta and DP William Ruto.