Kenya Ports Authority seeks firm to run second cargo terminal

President Uhuru Kenyatta being briefed by Kenya Ports Authority Managing Director Gichiri Ndua (2nd R) while touring the Port of Mombasa on June 30, 2014. Looking on is Transport Cabinet Secretary Eng. Michael Kamau (L). PHOTO | LABAN WALLOGA |  NATION MEDIA GROUP

In Summary

• Move may meet opposition from those opposed to putting facility in private hands.
• It is the first time the ports manager is seeking private sector services to manage operations at a section of the facility.

By IMMACULATE KARAMBU
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Kenya Ports Authority has stated the search for a private entity to operate the second container terminal whose construction is set to be completed by March 2016.

The move is meant to increase efficiency at the facility. However, it may trigger opposition by some stakeholders such as the Dock workers union which has in the past been opposed to privatisation of the port.

In an international tender notice, KPA expressed the intention of contracting a private investor to operate two berths at the second terminal under a concession agreement with the winning bidder.

“KPA as the executing agency of the project intends to retain a private operator to operate phase 1 of the second container terminal under concession agreement between the operator and KPA through competitive bidding,” the ad reads.

The terminal currently in use comprises four berths that are operated by KPA.

It is the first time the ports manager is seeking private sector services to manage operations at a section of the facility.

The second container terminal will comprise four berths. Phase 1 of the project, which is set to be handed over to the private operator, constitutes two berths.

Construction of the terminal is financed through a ¥26 billion (Sh19.6 billion) loan between the government and the Japan International Cooperation Agency whose agreement was signed in 2007.

In May, Toyota Tsusho Corporation and Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co were awarded a Sh2.5 billion contract to supply and install cranes at the new terminal in a tender that was open only to Japanese companies, according to terms of the funding.

KPA projects that the cargo throughput volume at the Mombasa port will rise to 25.5 million tonnes this year, up from 22.3 million tonnes handled at the facility in 2013.

Apart from Kenya, the Mombasa port is also used by the country’s landlocked neighbours such as Uganda for import and export of both consumer goods and petroleum products