Kenya Railways (KR) has shrugged off concerns raised by a section of shippers on the directive compelling upcountry and landlocked country importers to use the standard gauge railway (SGR). The government has now made it clear that there is no going back on the directive saying it is the only way of ensuring a smooth flow of cargo to inland container depot (ICD) for the benefit of all players in the sector. Importers based in the capital city and locations beyond it have been ordered to start collecting their cargo from Nairobi’s ICD in Embakasi instead of Mombasa port. “KPA and KR will facilitate to ensure that the cargo owners and other relevant information will go a long way into enabling a smooth flow of cargo to ICD for the benefit of cargo owners, your customers,” said KRC in a letter addressed to Kenya Ships Agents Association dated February 17th. The new directive comes barely two weeks after the government denied claims by shippers that it was trying to force them to use SGR despite poor infrastructure links at the ICD. The Nairobi section of the SGR, completed last year at a princely Sh327 billion cost launched its freight service in January but had to suspend the daily service amid dwindling cargo volumes. In a memo dated February 20 seen by Saturday Nation, global shipping firm Maersk Line East Africa has also notified its customers that their cargo will henceforth be rerouted to the ICD. “Please note that all an-nominated...

Arusha — THE Republic of Somalia is in the line-up for becoming the 7th member of the East African Community (EAC). The prospect will be on the agenda for discussions as the regional bloc's Heads of State assemble in Kampala, Uganda, from tomorrow. The Ugandan Minister of State for EAC Affairs, Mr Julius Wandera Maganda, who currently chairs the Council of Ministers, revealed in a statement here that the six heads of state from Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, Tanzania and South-Sudan will review progress of the verification exercise for the admission of the Republic of Somalia into the EAC. The inclusion of Mogadishu will make the East African Community to now own 'The Horn of Africa,' and boast the longest coastline of the Indian Ocean on the continent. The joint population of Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, South-Sudan and (if admitted) Somalia, will be close to 190 million in total, which is essentially the same number of people as Nigeria. Apart from discussing the horn of Africa factor, other agenda items in the EAC Heads of State retreat's table include the modalities for promotion of motor vehicle assembly in the community, although already Kenya is ahead on this, by hosting assembly lines for Nissan, Volkswagen and China's Foton. Included, too, will be a review of the textile and leather sector, in which Tanzania tops the bill by having a large number of textile factories if the defunct ones were to be revived, and working on the Report of the Chair...

NAIROBI, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta will fly to Uganda on Thursday for a three-day official visit to attend a regional summit on financing infrastructure and health, his office said Wednesday. During the summit of the East African Community (EAC) member states, State House spokesman Manoah Esipisu said in a statement that Kenyatta will showcase the progress Kenya has made in investments in infrastructure over the last five years. Esipisu said the Kenyan leader will also unveil plans for further investment in the infrastructure and emphasize his commitment to a more integrated approach in infrastructure development for the region. "Affordable health for all is one of President Kenyatta's Big Four commitments in his second term, alongside affordable housing, enhanced manufacturing and value addition as well as food security and nutrition," Esipisu said. During the presidential retreat on financing infrastructure and health and a summit of the EAC member states Kampala, Kenyatta will also make the point that it was no longer viable for East Africa to build infrastructure with a silo mentality. According to Esipisu, Kenyatta will urge greater speed in implementing projects, with a sharp focus on continuing the agenda of promoting the free movement of people across EAC and the wider African continent. "The president sees enhanced people-to-people contact as key to improving trade, growing regional economies and lifting the lives of citizens," he said. Esipisu said the president will also speak on Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) arrangements between the EAC and the European Union...

Travellers will now be able to fly directly to Kisumu from Mombasa's Moi International Airport (MIA) following the launch of low cost carrier Silverstone Air. This will be the first ever direct flight connecting the two towns since independence. The inaugural flight will be on Friday on a Dash 8 -100 aircraft leaving Kisumu at 1.00pm and arriving Mombasa at 2.30 pm. It will then depart for Kisumu at 3.00pm arriving at 4.30 pm. In the first two weeks of inception, the airline will be operating on Fridays and Sundays but on the third week will add Wednesday to its flight days with timings remaining the same. An introductory fare of Sh10, 500 will be charged per person on a one way basis. Silverstone's Sales Manager, Patrick Oketch told The Standard in Mombasa where he has pitched camp to prepare for the maiden flight that a grand reception to inaugurate the flight will be held in Kisumu on Friday . "We are all set to revolutionise air travel between the two major Kenyan cities. We hope to tap into traffic that will include tourists, families and business people from across the border coming to transact business at the Port of Mombasa,'' he said. Kisumu Governor Peter Anyang' Nyong'o will officiate Kisumu launch. Oketch said that Silverstone will apart from the Dash 8-100 aircraft also deploy a Fokker 50 and Dash 8-300 (both have capacities to carry 50 passengers). Source: Standard Digital

The East African Community member states’ appreciation of rail transport has increased, a trend experts think is good for doing business because it reduces on time. This trend, according to the experts, does not only ease doing business in the region but also it is cost effective because of its turnaround. Latest report from the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) published this month shows that containers delivered up-country by rail from the Port of Mombasa recorded 671 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEUs) registering an increase of 233 TEUs compared to the previous week. Port operations performance during the week showed that a total of 11,189 TEUs (full and empty) were discharged from the ships and 10,049 TEUs loaded for export. The total yard population registered 14,644 TEUs out of which 5,753 TEUS were awaiting pick up orders. Uganda, Rwanda, DR Congo and South Sudan import and export their products through the port of Mombasa. Imports population breakdown indicated that there were 3,170 TEUs locally bound (Kenya) and 4,873 TEUs for transit destinations. Uganda bound containers recorded 3,825 TEUs, out of the 4,873 TEUs making it the biggest customer. This was followed by Tanzania bound containers that registered 444 TEUs, South Sudan with 233 TEUs, and Democratic Republic of Congo with 162 TEUs and Rwanda with 157 TEUs. Reaction Mr Daniel Birungi the executive director Uganda Manufacturers Association (UMA), says the reason Ugandans are taking up rail transport as an alternative is because it’s cost effective, especially to bulky importers. “A case in...

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...