The much delayed Lamu Port construction project has achieved a major breakthrough with the completion of its first berth, and the facility is now set to welcome a super huge vessel in October. According to the Kenya Ports Authority managing director Daniel Manduku, the first berth is 100 per cent complete and the first super post-panamas vessel will dock at the facility on October 20. “The first berth will be capable of handling any kind of vessels especially the self-sustaining vessels. KPA has put in place plans to install three Ship to Shore gantries by the time the remaining two berths are ready for operation in October 2020,” Dr Manduku said in a statement. The Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia-Transport (Lapsset) Corridor Development Authority, which is supervising the project, had earlier said on social media that the second and third berths will be completed by December 2020. Construction of the berth began in October 2016, and the contractor – China Communication Construction Company – was expected to complete works by March 2018. However, this did not happen due to “unforeseen circumstances”, according to Lapsset Corridor Development Authority director general Sylvester Kasuku. Nevertheless, Mr Kasuku maintained that the three berths planned for phase one of the Lamu Port development project would be finalised within the official timeline of 2020. “China Communication Construction Company is expected to complete construction of the (first) three berths by the year 2020 at a cost of Sh48 billion,” he said during a tour of the project last year....

Over the past 5 years, the East African Community (EAC) has reduced the bottlenecks on both the central and northern corridors as a way of facilitating trade in the region but despite this a number of challenges hindering the logistics industry still remain. Director of Transport at Trademark East Africa (TEA), Abhishek Sharma joins CNBC Africa for more. Source: cnbcafrica

The East African Business Council has called for closer government partnership and involvement with the private sector in policy formulation to enhance the competitiveness of the EAC region. This, according to the EABC Chairman Mr Nick Nesbitt will also enhance value addition in agriculture, mining and services sectors among others as well as strengthening regional value chains. “EABC is a respected coordinator and holds respective dialogue with EAC governments with balanced regional views and policy stance,” he said. Mr. Nebsitt  was speaking during a courtesy visit to Uganda’s President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, and highlighted the importance of fast tracking the  comprehensive review of EAC CET; Liberalization of Opens Skies;  One Network Area on Telecommunication; Harmonization of Standards in the EAC; Strengthening the EAC Secretariat on enforcement of laws; Market access with Democratic Republic of the Congo; Transport interlinkages in the region – Road, Rail and Water (lake Victoria); Inter-governmental trade dispute resolution mechanism and closer government involvement and government partnership with the private sector. “Comprehensive review of the EAC Common External Tariff (CET) is yet to be finalized four years down the line adversely affecting intra-EAC trade,” said Hon. Peter Mathuki, EABC CEO. Mr. Nesbitt further appreciated H.E. President Museveni for resolving border misunderstandings for the common good of the East African people as enshrined in the Treaty. “This will go a long way in instilling confidence to the citizens and business community,” said Mr. Nesbitt adding that a healthy and vibrant private sector will support social and economic development of the...

Ahead of the third Global Logistics Convention, in East Africa, which takes place on August 29-30 at the Kigali Convention Centre, Abhishek Sharma, TMA’s Senior Director for Transport spoke to Business Times’ James Karuhangaabout the state of the logistics sector in the region. According to the logistics expert, in the past 10 years, the status of logistics in the region has improved significantly but challenges persist and that is why such a conference comes in handy. Most importantly, he noted, it is very important that countries work very hard to reduce the cost of logistics because poor people bear the brunt more when things go wrong in the logistics sector. The excerpts; What is the situation of the logistics sector in the region at the moment? In the last, 10 years, the status of logistics in the region has improved significantly; the time and the cost has come down dramatically along both the northern corridor and the central corridor. For example on the central corridor, for Rwanda, while the average speed of truck on transit was 7 kilometers an hour it has now improved to as much as 14 kilometers an hour and so, that is doubling is speed along the corridor. This has resulted in a reduction in prices of logistic movements along the corridor. Which studies back this up? The Logistics Performance Index of the World Bank also shows a significant improvement in all the countries of the EAC on logistics. What it shows is that normally, the logistics performance of...

The Integrated Customs Management System (iCMS) Sea cargo regime went live at the Port of Mombasa, marking one of the successful modernization steps in the East African Community trade facilitation. iCMS integrates and harmonises Customs processes into one system not only to enhance efficacy in Customs and Border Control operations but also to conform to best global Customs processes.  The go live of the sea cargo iCMS regime was marked by the clearance of the first consignment of 43,400.835 metric tonnes of clinker. The Vessel transporting the consignment, MV Ptolomeos, docked at the Portof Mombasa on Saturday, 3rd August, 2019 and was offloaded to its destination. The consignment was cleared automatically in the system, after the importer’s clearing agent, Express Shipping and Logistics (ESL), lodged entries in the system and paid duty of Ksh65 million before the arrival of the cargo.The biggest win for KRA in the implementation of iCMS is enhanced revenue collection at the ports of entry. This will be achieved through enhanced operational efficiency in Customs processes. iCMS is also set to reduce the cargo dwell time for compliant imports at thePort of Mombasa since the system does not require human intervention at the document processing centre, unlike the Simba system.The scenario presented with the use of iCMS is the automation of previously manual Customs processes like Risk Management and Valuation. These manual processes are sometimes shrouded by subjectivity but going forward,they will be eliminated, reducing officer discretion and allowing objectivity and integrity of processes. Customs revenues...

August 23—The regional logistics industry has been asked to work closer together in ways that will strengthen and increase efficiencies as leading French firm, Bolloré Transport & Logistics hints of building a new cargo handling complex in East Africa. “I am challenging the experts in the logistics industry to come up with feasible solutions that will improve the sector’s performance index ranking in the region,” Monica Azuba Ntege, Uganda transport minister told the Regional Logistics Expo forum on Thursday. The logistics industry includes customs clearance, freight forwarding, warehousing, transportation, port services and air cargo. Earlier this month, Philippe Labonne, deputy managing director of Bolloré Transport & Logistics said their strategy is to develop hubs in Africa.  “We have identified  eight of them, such as in Abidjan, where we are building an ‘aerohub’ so that goods can arrive by sea and be redistributed by air. It’s sort of confidential, but I can tell you that we’re looking closely at Nairobi, Kigali, South Africa,” he told the French publication Jeune Afrique. Azuba said Uganda has recorded mixed results in rankings for the movement of goods and services between 2007 and 2016.  The country’s logistics performance index ranking jumped from 83rd position to 58th, however between 2016 and 2018, its rank dropped from 58th position to 102. Kenya is the regional hub with the biggest fleets and container facilities based in that country, arranged along the Northern Corridor route from Mombasa. According to a recent report by financial services firm, pwc, intra-trade in Africa...

Trade mark East Africa has signed a 470 million shillings partnership with two trade and business bodies in the region. 

By Drake Nyamugabwa East Africa Business Council (EABC) has received US$ 3.2 Million from Trademark East Africa aimed at reducing trade barriers in the East African Community through supporting the implementation of a 3 year programme dubbed “Integrating Public-Private Sector Dialogue (PPD) for Trade and Investment in East Africa Community (EAC) Programme”. The East African Business Council (EABC) officially signed a US$ 3.2 Million financing agreement with TradeMark Africa (TMA) on 20th august in Nairobi. The partnership will support EABC’s advocacy efforts of improving coordination, reporting and resolution of Non- Tariff Barriers along the corridors; harmonization and adoption of East African Standards/ Sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures; improve adoption and harmonization of Customs and  Domestic Tax-related policies and trade facilitation in the EAC. Hon. Peter Mathuki, EABC CEO says that in order to strengthen and sustain EAC’s trade and investment, it is critical that an enabling environment is in place to guarantee growth and predictability adding that Public‐Private Dialogue plays a crucial role in addressing constraints, providing short‐term stimulus with long‐term impact and contribute to economic growth and poverty reduction. “We appreciate this partnership with TradeMark Africa as it will support EABC to evaluate and monitor EAC policies to ensure they work for businesses at ground level and create momentum to accelerate needed the policy reforms to the business and investment climate in the EAC. Inadequate trading regimes restrictions on the export of certain commodities, and lack of product diversification and the existence of Non-Tariff Barriers continue to hamper intra-regional trade which is still low...

The East African Business Council (EABC) has signed a $3 million(Sh308.8 million) financing agreement with TradeMark Africa (TMA) to help address trade barriers in East Africa. A similar trade deal worth $1.5 million (Sh154.4 million ) has also been signed between the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) and TMA. This will support implementation of a three year programme, “Integrating Public-Private Sector Dialogue (PPD) for Trade and Investment in East Africa Community (EAC) programme”. The partnership will support EABC's advocacy efforts of improving coordination, reporting and resolution of Non Tariff Barriers along the corridors, harmonization and adoption of East African Standards, Sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures, improve adoption and harmonization of Customs and Domestic Tax-related policies and trade facilitation in the EAC. Public‐Private Dialogue plays a crucial role in addressing constraints, providing short‐term stimulus with long‐term impact and contribute to economic growth and poverty reduction. The project will enhance advocacy and dialogue on transport and logistics, trade facilitation, customs and tax, standards, and NTBs in a bid to increase trade and investments in the EAC. Also, the programme extends beyond the EAC and incorporates the COMESA, COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) and Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). “Inadequate trading regimes restrictions on the export of certain commodities, and lack of product diversification and the existence of NTBs continue to hamper intra-regional trade which is still low at 20 per cent compared to other RECs,” EABC CEO Peter Mathuki said. The EABC is a key convenor of high‐level regional Public‐Private...

The East African Business Council (EABC) has secured US$ 3.2 million financing from TradeMark Africa Africa (TMA) to support trade initiatives mainly addressing barriers in the region. This will support  implementation of a three year programme,“Integrating Public-Private Sector Dialogue (PPD) for Trade and Investment in East Africa Community (EAC) Programme”. The partnership will support  EABC’s advocacy efforts of improving coordination, reporting and resolution of  Non- Tariff Barriers along the corridors; harmonization and adoption of East African Standards, Sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures, improve adoption and harmonization of customs and  domestic tax-related policies and trade facilitation in the EAC. To strengthen and sustain EAC’s trade and investment, it is critical that an enabling environment is in place to guarantee growth and predictability. Public‐Private Dialogue plays a crucial role in addressing constraints, providing short‐term stimulus with long‐term impact and contribute to economic growth and poverty reduction. The project will enhance advocacy and dialogue on transport and logistics, trade facilitation, customs & tax, standards, and NTBs in a bid to increase trade and investments in the EAC. Also, the programme extends beyond the EAC and incorporates the COMESA, COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) and Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) “Inadequate trading regimes restrictions on the export of certain commodities, and lack of product diversification and the existence of NTBs continue to hamper intra-regional trade which is still low at 20 per cent compared to other RECs SADC 40 per cent,”said Hon. Peter Mathuki, EABC CEO. The EABC is a key convenor of high‐level...