Ethiopia is making headway in building modern infrastructure. The Addis Ababa Transport Programs Coordination Council, in an effort to solve the transportation crisis in the city has started the construction of a modern auto bus station, which will serve up to 80,000 people per day. Ethiopia is fast becoming a country of many firsts when it comes to infrastructure development on the continent. Last year, the east African country surpassed Kenya to become the region's top economic giant. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital city, is becoming the centre of technological infrastructure. Mid last year, Ethiopia introduced Africa's first smart parking system. The smart parking system can accommodate up to 90 cars without consuming much space. Ethiopia introduced an electric railway which connects the country to Djibouti. The electric railway cut down a three day journey to 12 hours and runs for 750km. The infrastructures built in the country have been in partnership with China. Ethiopia is constructing a modern auto bus station. The modern auto bus station is being built at Africa's biggest market hub in Addis, 'Merkato'. The construction is facilitated by the Addis Ababa Transport Programs Coordination Council. Ethiopia's smart parking system allows 90 cars can be parked where it could occupy only 9 cars earlier. Photo: Twitter/ Selorm Akligo The construction of the auto bus station costs around $7.4 million. The project is 17% underway. The bus station will serve up to 80,000 people per day, and will be operational in October 2019. The construction of the auto...

Several groups want Kenya's strategy to fight climate change revised to include projects that can directly help poor people. The environment lobbies say the strategy only focuses on large-scale infrastructure projects such as building more geothermal plants for energy production. “But no attention is given to small scale projects that are being implemented by local communities and which contribute towards reduction of green house emissions such as energy saving cook stoves and small scale biogas plants,” says Velma Oseko, a coordinator with the Sustainable Environmental Development Watch (Suswatch Kenya), a network of environment NGOs. Poor people are hardest hit by the changing climate through negative impacts such as severe flooding and persistent droughts. Oseko said including pro-poor projects in Kenya's strategy could lift them out of poverty. “There will be a dual objective of contributing to poverty reduction in East Africa since majority still live in rural settings,” she said. The Kenyan strategy includes commitments, officially known as Nationally Determined Contributions, which form the basis of the country’s engagement to the Paris Agreement, the legally binding international agreement to fight climate change. Countries will meet at the end of this year to finalise implementation guidelines for the agreement. The agreement aims to stop global temperature rising above two degrees beyond the pre-industrial times temperatures, increase the ability of people to adapt to the changing climate and ensure there is funding for clean, non-polluting developments. Climate change refers to a change in long-term weather patterns, and is triggered largely by the increased levels of carbon...

Two announcements touching on Kenya’s maritime security may have disappeared somewhere in the labyrinth of heated political exchanges, but they are too crucial to ignore. In the first, the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI) disclosed that the National Treasury had agreed to allocate funds for financing full operations of two security ships in 2018/19. The ships are mv Doria, a sea patrol vessel acquired from Bangladesh four years ago at a cost of Sh3.6 billion, and mv Mtafiti, a research ship donated by Belgium. Kenya needs the patrol vessel to police its deep seas which have reportedly become a safe haven for foreign trawlers looking for easy fishing spot on the Indian Ocean. The research vessel, on other hand, will be used to determine the range of wealth that Kenya has on its portion of the Ocean. But Kenya needs laws to co-ordinate its ocean wealth protection efforts. That brings us to the second announcement made last week. The National Assembly disclosed that it had moved the Kenya Coast Guard Service (CGS) Bill, 2017 to the committee stage after it sailed through the first reading. It, therefore, invited the public to present views on the proposed CGS laws to the Administration and National Security Committee. Just like forests and wildlife have specific agencies, maritime experts have pushed for CGS to protect Kenya’s ocean wealth. The country claims a huge exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the Indian Ocean. From the shoreline to its EEZ boundary, Kenya claims over 600km...

Uganda is launching a new round of road building that is set to reduce freight costs and add market reach in the next three years. In a bid to stimulate economic growth that over the last two decades has averaged an annual 2.6 per cent, the Ugandan government has embarked on an intensified round of road infrastructure projects. It is now close to completing the 49.5km Entebbe-Kampala expressway, which will link the capital city to Entebbe International Airport, and is set to be open in May this year. Last month, it won $84.5m of loan funding from the African Development Bank (AfDB) for the stretch of Uganda-Kenya highway, from Kapchorwa to the border post of Suam, and on to the upcoming Kitale and Eldoret Town bypasses. The highway is expected to be completed in 2021, and will provide a new and faster link between Uganda and Kenya connecting through the one-stop border post of Suam. Kenya received $129.6m of AfDB loan funding for the road in April last year. The construction of the road will see the average speed in the delivery of goods from Kenya to Uganda increase. The new highway also holds logistics implications ahead, in that it will connect 1.4 million people living around the project area, and reduce traffic congestion in the town of Eldoret on the Northern Corridor. Providing easier and rapid access through road construction can have multiple positive impacts for the surrounding population, according to research by the United Nations. “A global investment...

Hapag-Lloyd, the world’s sixth largest shipping company, has announced the opening of a new line from Jeddah in Saudi Arabia into the ports of Mombasa and Dar es Salaam, opening the door to faster transit times and lower freight charges expected competition. Hapag-Lloyd will start the service in April with four vessels plying the line from Jeddah in weekly connections to to the east African cities. The shipping company currently offers services linking Asia to Europe and port coverage in Mexico and the Caribbean, among other regions, making the move to serve East Africa a significant one. It will establish local representation in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda through Diamond Shipping Services Ltd, a transport service in Nairobi. Mombasa will act as a gateway to other neighbouring countries, including South Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi, DRC, Malawi, Uganda and Zambia. “With our East Africa Service (EAS), we will be entering a trade which our customers have wanted us to serve. In the process, the EAS will benefit from Hapag-Lloyd’s strong presence in the Middle East and connect to our global network,” said Lars Christiansen, senior managing director Region Middle East in a statement. The demand for more lines from the Middle East has been driven by sharp import growth. Kenyan imports from Saudi Arabia, led by petroleum imports, rose by 25.2 per cent between 2015 and 2016, to total Sh69 billion in value. Part of that rise was due to rising oil prices, but the flow has also increased in volume, up 9.5...

Public and private entities with idle warehouses in 10 counties could reap handsomely after the government expressed interest in leasing them for export-bound goods manufacturers. Export Processing Zones Authority (EPZA) said it was seeking fully developed vacant warehouses in Athi River, Eldoret, Kiambu, Kisumu, Machakos, Mombasa, Mtwapa, Nairobi, Nakuru, Nyeri, Thika or Voi for 30-year leases. In a notice published in the dailies, the EPZA said the facilities will be adopted as EPZ facilities and leased out to investors keen on launching processing facilities for export-bound goods. “The warehouses should be connected to a three-phase industrial electricity supply, a mains water supply, a wastewater line and the lettable spaces should be 300,000 square feet or more, while its internal and external access roads should be paved,” it said adding the facilities should be located within two kilometres of a densely populated area. In its 2016 annual report, the EPZA said limited availability of industrial space adversely affected planned expansion of existing apparel factories noting that 50 companies were unable to expand as they had exhausted available space. The EPZA’s invitation is informed by increasing interest among prospective export-bound firms intending to process locally produced raw materials from coffee, tea, horticultural produce among others, thereby generating jobs and higher returns for local farmers. In 2016, the export processing zones accounted for 17.44 per cent of job opportunities in the manufacturing sector. The EPZA then said finished goods worth Sh36 billion were exported to the US, with garments contributing Sh34 billion, Europe...

Cross-border imports from Uganda and Tanzania have helped keep the price of maize flour relatively low despite forecast increase to Sh120 for a two kilo-packet after lapse of government subsidy on December 31. Most brands are now selling at less than Sh110 for the two-kilo packet with an exception of Jogoo that is retailing at Sh113. Millers say they are getting sufficient stocks from the neighbouring countries and at a good price compared with what local farmers are selling them. “We are getting good stocks from Uganda and Tanzania that have played a key role in boosting the local stocks hence keeping the cost of flour low,” says Cereal Millers Association. Regional maize is landing at Sh2,500 per 90 kilogramme bag whereas millers are paying a minimum of Sh3,000 to get the produce locally, after the government set a price of Sh3,200. Still there are fears the cost might go up starting March when maize stocks are expected to start dwindling. Imports from Uganda grew significantly between October and November last year compared with the same period in 2016, thanks to good price in Kenya following a drought. Data from Eastern African Grain Council indicates the cross-border trade between the two countries increased from 1,408 tonnes in the fourth quarter of 2016 to 47,563 in the same period last year. Source: Business Daily

The volume of cargo transported using the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) is on the rise, the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) says. Managing director Catherine Mturi-Wairi said some 671 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit (TEUs) containers were delivered up-country by rail last week, an increase of 233 TEUs compared to the previous week. “As you are aware, the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) commenced freight services to the Inland Container Depot Nairobi (ICD). We have started seeing an increase in the usage of standard Gauge rail services,” she said Sunday in a speech during the KPA corporate golf tournament in Machakos. “This development is aimed at bringing services closer to the customer and also decongesting the roads.” There has been concern over low volume of cargo transported through the SGR as importers shied away from the train service. They have also cried foul over a directive to transport all cargo coming in through port of Mombasa via SGR to Nairobi’s ICD in Embakasi. Port activity Ms Mturi-Wairi said Mombasa port had recorded a significant increase in total cargo throughout with a growth of 10.9 per cent from 27.36 million tonnes in 2016 to 30.35 million tonnes in 2017. Container traffic 98,586 TEUs rose from from 1.091 million TEUs handled in 2016 to 1.190 million TEUs in 2017. “On the other hand, transit cargo had a notable increase in performance from 7.75 million tonnes in 2016 to 8.64 million tonnes in 2017, posting a growth of 11.5 per cent,” she said. Imports grew by 10.8...

Kenya earned much more from fish exports in the last three years than it paid for imports despite rising volumes shipped in and an outcry over foreign sea food flooding the local market. The country earned Sh8.5 billion from selling abroad, which was higher than the Sh4.03 billion paid for imports in the period under review, according to official figures. Export volumes in the last three years stood at 16,429 tonnes compared with 40,991 tonnes imported in the same period. “The earnings from exports were higher compared to imports because of the high value that Kenya’s fish earned in the world market,” says the Department of Fisheries. Kenya mainly imports frozen tilapia, frozen mackerels, sardines, prawns and salmons among others. The country exports frozen Nile Perch, tuna, octopus, frozen whole tilapia and lobsters caught in the lakes and the Indian Ocean notably to the EU. Fishmongers have been complaining of an increase in cheap imports mainly from China, which they say affect sales as they cannot compete with the local catch, which are expensive. The government says Kenya will continue importing fish to meet the widening deficit, due to dwindling stocks both in the aquatic and marine space. Kenya has an annual deficit of 800,000 tonnes, which is filled through imports. Lake Victoria, traditionally a major source of fish in the country, is currently suffering from depleted stocks. The stocks have been dwindling because of the use of wrong fishing gear and overfishing. The government is taking corrective measure such...

Local and foreign investors are seeking licences to put up 100 Special Economic Zones (SEZ) across the country. Industrialisation secretary Adan Mohamed said the applications are being scrutinised with priority given to those eyeing use of locally produced raw materials to process products for export. During a one-day forum convened by projects and infrastructure specialist firm, IKM Advocates and the International Projects Finance Association, Mr Mohamed said only quality SEZ investments that can generate sustainable jobs, impart employable skills and create wealth for local communities through purchase of locally produced raw materials will benefit. “Apart from Tatu City and Africa Economic Zones, Naivasha as well will be built enabling manufacturing facilities enjoy access to cheap geothermal power and cheap Standard Gauge Railway transport to Mombasa port,” he said. Dongo Kundu SEZ is also under development at the coast and will occupy 1,500 hectares. The forum was told a one-stop shop office within SEZ facilities or at the Special Economic Zones Authority (SEZA) headquarters would be established enabling SEZ operators, developers and enterprises to obtain licences with ease. “The SEZ Act grants incentives that can only be realised once we have operational laws exempting investors from some tax obligations such as payment of stamp duty. All stakeholders should be engaged in formulating the policies that align the incentives to the tax laws,” said IKM managing partner James Kamau. Mexico’s Federal Authority for SEZ Development executive secretary Enrique Antonio Huesca Fernandez called for strengthening of the SEZ institutional framework and a flexible...