Kenya to open public CFS after private facilities show their worth

KENYA's Coast Development Authority (CDA) plans to open a public container freight station (CFS) on six-acres at Jomvu on the road to Nairobi outside Mombasa after its negotiates a KES16 million (US$210,167) bank loan to do the job, reports Nairobi's Business Daily.

CDA managing director Nesbert Mangale said the authority hopes to raise KES100 million revenue annually from the operation which is expected to commence in 2012.

Container handling capacity has been a major challenge at Mombasa, since the current container terminal, designed to handle 250,000 TEU a year now handles over 600,000 TEU. This is apart from the overall increase in first half cargo to 9.17 million tonnes to 8.04 million tonnes year on year.

"We have adopted the CFS concept, where most cargo exits the port as soon as it lands to the privately-run CFSes," said Mombassa port manager James Mulewa, adding that since the use of private inland CFSes since 2007, the port had gradually cut on-dock volume from 14,300 TEU to 6,000 this year.

"This allows us to plan and compete with other ports in terms of moves per hour," Mr Mulewa said, adding that it was one of the reasons why the port posted a KES5.3 billion pre-tax profit last year due to improved efficiency and good yard planning.

The Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), which approves of the public CFS project, embraced the concept of the private CFSes in October 2007 to ease congestion that was worsening and to avoid the risk of punitive vessel delays surcharges from shipping lines.

Mr Mulewa said that the use of private CFSes and the 24-hour port operations had eased congestion. But before the coming of the private inland CFS, the yard use exceeded its official stated 14,500 TEU capacity. Thirteen CFSes have since been licensed and four have become bonded facilities conducting their own customs clearance.
 

Source: Schednet