Mombasa, 30 November 2021

The Port of Mombasa has today received a major boost following the ground-breaking and commissioning of Mbaraki and Kipevu roads respectively, thanks to a partnership between the UK Government, Kenya Ports Authority, and the County Government of Mombasa.

The two roads which form critical arteries to and from the Port of Mombasa are expected to improve connectivity thereby enhancing efficiency and seamless movement of cargo from the port through the northern corridor.

The completed Kipevu road cost a total of Ksh. 2.04 billion with Kenya Ports Authority funding the project to a tune of Ksh. 1.5 billion shillings and the UK Government through TradeMark Africa (TMA) contributing Ksh. 520 million shillings to the project. It is estimated that Kipevu road will reduce the time taken through Gate 18/20 from 5.8 days before road construction to an average of 30 minutes in 2020.

Similarly, the Mbaraki Road attracted funding to the tune of approx. Ksh. 403million by the UK Government and Ksh.96Million by Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) for design and construction and catalyzed a contribution of Ksh.44.6million from the County Government of Mombasa. Once complete, Mbaraki road will reduce truck turn around time from CFS to port from 8 hours to less than half that time.

The UK High Commissioner H.E Jane Marriott, Mombasa County Governor H.E Ali Hassan Joho, State Department of East Africa Community P.S Kevit Desai, TMA CEO Frank Matsaert and the KPA Acting Managing Director Ambassador John Mwangemi graced the events which were held at Kipevu and Mbaraki-Nyerere Roads.

Speaking during the occasion, Amb. Jane Marriott said: “The UK is committed to boosting trade through Mombasa Port, and across Kenya and the region.

“Since 2011, the UK has supported key physical infrastructure and service delivery in and around the Mombasa Port. The commissioning and ground-breaking of these projects today, will not only increase trade opportunities within Kenya and overseas, but will help Kenyan firms seize opportunities from the UK-Kenya Economic Partnership Agreement that was ratified earlier this year – an important part of the partnership between our two countries.”

The Mombasa Governor on his part said, “The construction of Kipevu Road and Mbaraki Road is a gamechanger and will have a huge socio-economic multiplier effect. Given the rapid expansion of both the Port of Mombasa and the support infrastructure, it is therefore absolutely crucial that we equally enhance efficiency of our city and its services.”

The Governor thanked the UK Government, Danish Government and TradeMark Africa saying they were true partners to the people of Mombasa.

KPA acting Managing Director Amb. John Mwangemi said the expanded Kipevu Road is a big boost to the Port of Mombasa as it has been widened to provide seamless connection to ease the flow of traffic into and out of the Port.

He reiterated KPA’s commitment to work in collaboration with all stakeholders, industry players and partners in the port’s modernization and capacity expansion projects.

“The New Kipevu Road project was conceptualised to ease the pressure from trucks queuing within the yards and reduce the average time for freight through the Port of Mombasa by improving port accessibility, which in turn promotes business with end users among other long-term economic benefits,” said Amb. Mwangemi.

TMA Chief Executive Officer Frank Matsaert said: “The progress of these roads among other projects represents the strong partnerships between the governments of Kenya, Denmark and UK and their commitment to enhance the trading environment in Kenya for the economic benefit of all citizens. TMA remains committed to facilitate fundamental improvements to efficiency in the port among other initiatives that contribute to sustainable green growth.”

Speaking to the press, TMA Kenya Country Director Ahmed Farah said TMA-Kenya had invested over USD100million at the port by end 2020 in support of infrastructure development, adoption of modern systems and safety reforms to reduce greenhouse emissions. Ahmed said, “With TMA donors, we are keen to support Kenya’s green growth initiatives, trade and employment creation as well as facilitate local industries to tap into the opportunities provided by Africa Continental Free Trade Area.”

Mombasa is a lifeline port for Kenya and its landlocked neighbours, handling about 30,923 million tonnes annually with traffic projected to increase to 50 million tons by 2030. Modernisation of the port and improvement of its infrastructure is vital towards unlocking the economic potential of the region, and critically reducing the logistics costs related to imports and exports.

The Shimanzi and Mbaraki areas host oil terminals, clinker handling facility and grain handling facilities that attract a lot of movement of heavy trucks. This causes congestion making it difficult for traffic to flow in and out of the area to the Northern Corridor, North Coast and South Coast. Additionally, because the existing road to Mbaraki is partly bitumen and earth, air pollution in the area is high.  In addition, Kipevu road will ensure the greater use of the additional Port entry points at Gate 18/20. These gates have fully automated gate processes and streamlined controls and procedures for entry and exits which reduce time trucks must spend within the port. Both Kipevu Road and Mombasa Port’s Gate 18/20 will reduce truck turnaround times within the port by more than half.