Construction of an ultra-modern cruise ship terminal at Mombasa port is expected to kick off at Kilindini’s Shed Number One by October this year, Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala says. Balala said the project, which will be carried out in a tripartite partnership between the Ministry of Tourism, Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) and Trademark East Africa, is estimated to be ready by the year end. “Teams are on the ground to give us timelines… we estimate that by October, we will break ground here at the port,” said the CS during a press briefing after a closed-door meeting with KPA and Trademark East Africa officials. The terminal will handle droves of visitors arriving aboard cruise ships and will be designed with a touch that meets and befits the needs of the modern day traveller. “The terminal will have cafeterias for passengers’ refreshments and entertainment spots, among other key amenities required for modern passenger stopovers,” Balala said. He said KPA and Trademark East Africa have pledged to support the project with Sh200 million on a fifty-fifty basis. The private sector will operate some of its phases as one measure to sustain the campaign of cruise ships. Between 2010 and 2011, a record of close 40,000 tourists arrived through Mombasa, the CS noted, adding that arrival of cruise ships will boost the local economy. “The tourists will go for safaris, excursions, shopping and also spend in our local hotels and restaurants,” he said. Source: Media Max

Kenya is mulling terminating the standard gauge railway (SGR) in Naivasha or Kisumu after Rwanda pulled out of the flagship infrastructure project on the Northern Corridor. Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia played down the impact of Rwanda's exit even as he acknowledged that extension of the line to Malaba may no longer be necessary if landlocked states opt out. "The decision has not been reached but we have a number of options at our disposal. We can decide to end the SGR at Naivasha or Kisumu but it will still be a viable venture due to the presence of Lake Victoria," said Mr Macharia. Rwanda last week announced plans to build a railway through Tanzania to the Indian Ocean noting that the route is cheaper and would take shorter time to complete. The country's last-minute pullout from the SGR came as a surprise to Kenya which has build almost 80 per cent of the first phase running from Mombasa to Nairobi. Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan have been keen on connecting their economies via the fast-speed SGR running along the northern corridor. Speculation has been rife that China -- which is financing the Mombasa-Nairobi section of the railway - is keen on taking up the whole project. Uganda, which is the top transit destination of Mombasa port cargo, has not build even as single inch of its section of SGR, putting pressure on Rwanda instead. The Kenya Ports Authority sees an efficient railway link from Mombasa as a sure...

Proper investments will also be used as a key driver of structural transformation through creating backward and forward linkages between agriculture production, industrialization and growth in services trade. The call was made by Ambassador Nathan Irumba from SEATIN Uganda, ahead of the regional investment climate meeting that takes place this Thursday and Friday at Lake Victoria hotel in Entebbe. The meeting is organized by SEATINI Uganda in partnership with Diakonia under the theme "Making investment work for the people of East African Community (EAC)". It's aimed at kick starting efforts towards "Promoting Investment policies and Agreements that support sustainable development and improved livelihoods within the region". The multi-stakeholder meeting will involve adoption of a multi-disciplinary approach to enhance stakeholders' awareness and capacity to understand and appreciate the imperative for investment policies and practices that are gender sensitive, protect human rights, promote environment sustainability and address the development needs of the EAC region. At the meeting, stakeholders will be able to appreciate the need for investment policies and practices that are gender sensitive; protect human rights; promote environment sustainability among others. Irumba added that investment can facilitate rural economic transformation through increased production and productivity as well as value addition. The East African Community region is characterized by mostly Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) due to the fact that deliberate effort has been made by governments to attract FDIs into their countries. Currently, the region has registered world FDI flows of up to US$ 7 billion in 2014. Besides this, the EAC...

Innovators and entrepreneurs in the logistics and transport sector across the East African Community have a chance to acquire part of $16 million grant-based fund under the second phase of the logistics Innovation for Trade (LIFT) Challenge Fund. The TradeMark Africa initiative will provide grants ranging from $150,000 to $1 million to winning proposals from innovators across the world, whose project ideas will be implemented in East Africa. The organisation has already called for entries from qualifying sector player. The LIFT initiative is managed by Nathan Associates through a fund management team based in Nairobi, and is funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID). It seeks to trigger and introduce innovative approaches to tackling freight and transport costs in the East African Community (EAC). TradeMark Africa chief executive Officer Frank Matsaert urged innovators to apply for funding, saying the challenge had enabled stakeholders to test new ideas that should reduce the cost and transport time in the EAC. “It is our hope that the entrepreneurs and innovators of the East African Community in partnership with their counterparts internationally will drive forward development through the adoption or introduction of ‘best practice’ technologies in the transport and logistics sector, enabling local businesses to compete favourably in the increasingly global economy,” said Matsaert. Businesses in the transport and logistics sector, or those that provide services to actors within it, are now being invited to submit their innovative concepts to LIFT for possible funding. The LIFT Challenge Fund is open to businesses...

Kenya is losing its economic spark in the East African region, a new report has said. This is because of poor government policies that are not in line with those of the rest of the countries under the six-member East African Community. The Parliamentary Budget Office — the economists and fiscal analysts who advise MPs on the budget and the economy — said the country’s poor economic policies, plus some of the Government decisions had eroded confidence of the other East African countries in joint projects. “Kenya is slowly losing its comparative advantage of being a hub of the region. This is a result of policies that are not in tandem with its East African counterparts. As seen recently, Uganda has decided to build its crude-export pipeline through Tanzania,” said a PBO report on the 2016-17 budget. The verdict of the House economists is that the Jubilee administration has to shoulder the blame for the collapse of the multi-billion shilling oil pipeline partnership with Uganda. Uganda said the pipeline through Kenya was expensive. Rwanda too plans a diversion of the standard-gauge railway route to Tanzania citing cost challenges. Kenya was banking on a joint multi-trillion shilling pipeline and port project with Uganda, South Sudan, Ethiopia for the port of Lamu. Uganda has ten times the amount of crude oil found in Kenya and Kenya had hoped to entice Uganda to build a pipeline to the Lamu Port and use it to export its oil. The construction of the first three berths...

Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda consider ending imports of used garments by 2019 in order to increase domestic production. Five East African countries may ban sales of second-hand clothing from abroad – a staple of many residents’ wardrobes – in order to bolster domestic garment making. Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda make up the East Africa Community (EAC), which directed its member countries to phase out textile and shoe imports by 2019. The heads of state of all five countries must agree before the limits could take effect. The proposal comes as many African countries seek to increase manufacturing and other industries to fuel economic growth. Charitable donations resold Second-hand clothing, mostly from Europe and North America, are a mainstay of local clothing markets in Africa, according to Dr. Andrew Brooks, author of Clothing Poverty: The Hidden World of Fast Fashion and Second-hand Clothes. In Uganda, for example, second-hand garments account for 81 percent of all clothing purchases, Brooks said. East Africa imported more than $150 million worth of second-hand clothing in 2015. Brooks noted that the used clothing is less expensive than locally produced garments or even inexpensive new imports. U.S., U.K. are largest exporters Most of the second-hand clothing sold around the world comes from charitable donations by European and North American residents who are unaware the clothing will be sold, Brooks said. The United States and the United Kingdom are by far the largest exporters of used clothing. The United States exported used garments worth more than...

A Sh1.6 billion ($16 million) grant-based fund that supports innovators and entrepreneurs working in the logistics and transport sector has opened entries for its second phase. Logistics Innovation for Trade (LIFT) Challenge Fund will provide grants ranging from Sh15 million ($150,000) to Sh100 million ($1,000,000) to winning proposals from innovators across the world, whose project ideas will be implemented in East Africa. LIFT is a TradeMark Africa initiative managed by Nathan Associates through a fund management team based in Nairobi. It is financially supported by the UK Department for International Development (DFID). It seeks to trigger and introduce innovative approaches to tackling freight and transport costs in the East African Community (EAC). TradeMark Africa CEO Frank Matsaert asked innovators to apply saying the challenge had enabled stakeholders to test new ideas that should reduce the cost and transport time in the EAC. “It is our hope that the entrepreneurs and innovators of the East African Community in partnership with their counterparts internationally will drive forward development through the adoption or introduction of ‘best practice’ technologies in the transport and logistics sector, enabling local businesses to compete favourably in the increasingly global economy,” said Mr Matsaert. LIFT Challenge Fund manager David Mitchell said the initiative’s impact to local entrepreneurs had been positive. “The Challenge Fund instruments fill a significant gap in the financial support needs of private businesses and the innovators that drive business activity to greater results and efficiencies,” said Mr Mitchell. Businesses in the transport and logistics sector, or...

The construction of rural roads under the State’s annuity programme is set to start soon, even as Kenya awaits the World Bank financing. Transport secretary James Macharia told Parliament that the ministry was working on contracts for roads in five lots which have been identified as requiring immediate attention. The country has been banking on a Sh150 billion concessionary loan from the World Bank (WB) to speed up financing of the programme which has been rocked by high cost of borrowing from banks. Last year, the National Treasury set aside Sh9 billion under a special purpose fund to finance and upgrade selected rural roads to bitumen standards. “We have said that lets start the programme with the little money we have as we wait for the other funding to come,” said Mr Macharia. He told the National Assembly Transport committee that the Sh9 billion in the annuity levy was enough to maintain road works in the five identified lots. The fund was set aside to assure road developers including contractors and financiers that the government’s annuity payment obligations will be met when they fall due. It was aimed at addressing fears that pending bills will accumulate with respect to payment demands under the new mode of financing roads development. Roads identified under the five lots are in Ngong, Kiserian, Njukimi, Taveta, Kwale, Kinango, Mariakani, Lamu, Mandera, Elwak and Wajir among other places. Under the annuity financing model, local contractors are expected to build a selected number of roads using their...

Construction of a larger docking facility for bigger oil tankers is set to start early next year as the country races to expand its petroleum storage tanks to boost reserves and stabilise fuel pump prices. The planned offshore jetty in the port of Mombasa has attracted 31 bidders from across the world and will result in the relocation of the existing Kipevu Oil Terminal (KOT) which has a smaller capacity. The Kenya Ports Authority, the agency implementing the project, on Monday opened prequalification tenders, as it seeks to assess the financial capacity and technical know-how of interested companies. “The pre-qualification exercise will enable the Authority to shortlist qualified firms to be invited to bid. Tenders for construction will go out by July 2016 ahead of actual construction early next year,” KPA acting managing director Catherine Mturi- Wairi said in a statement. Construction of the new jetty will take 30 months and is part of the ongoing expansion of Mombasa port’s second container terminal to handle larger ships. Companies from 15 countries including England, South Africa, China, Japan, Australia, India, Dubai, US, United Arab Emirates, Spain and Netherlands are eyeing the multibillion–shilling contract. Bigger oil storage tanks are also in the projects construction works. Sector players argue the country, which is a net importer of oil, would have reaped more benefits from the recent crash in global oil prices had it invested in bigger storage facilities. The country has no strategic reserves currently and relies on oil marketers’ 21-day oil reserves...

Lack of skills and capacity among clearing and freight forwarding agents has been blamed for trade hurdles across the East African region, a new survey shows. The survey by TradeMark Africa (TMA) established that 477 clearing agents in the region had not been trained on improving trade logistics. This means that freight forwarding firms continue to incur costs such as fines imposed when clearing agents make errors on systems. The TMA survey conducted between 2011 and 2014 estimated that companies could save Sh38,500 annually if they employ trained clearing agents. TMA chief executive Frank Matsaert said business prosperity is achieved when there is a trade flow. “By training key people in the freight forwarding business, we are helping move goods quicker, save time and money and help the region develop,” he said. He said the survey was based on the premise that freight forwarders and clearing agents lacked necessary skills and capacity in clearing cargo at border points which resulted to an increase in cargo clearance costs and cargo release times. It was implemented by the Federation of East African Freight Forwarders Associations (FEAFFA) in conjunction with the East Africa Revenue Authorities (EARA). A total of 4,023 out of 4,500 freight forwarders and clearing agents were trained during the programme that sought to seal some skills gaps. The highest number of graduates in the programme were from Kenya, 1,665, while Tanzania had 1,218. Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi had 717; 299 and 164 graduates respectively. The survey projected an 84 per...