Siginon Global opens Sh1bn cargo terminal at JKIA

Corporate News

Jomo Kenyatta International Airport's International Arrivals section. PHOTO | FILE 

By ANNIE NJANJA

In Summary

• The new warehouse as an estimated annual throughput volume of 60,000 million tonnes, up from the 10,000 tonnes capacity of the previous warehouse.
• The facility has enabled the company to handle extra fresh produce shipments that add up to 120 metric tonnes in weekly exports.

Siginon Global, a logistics company situated at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), has invested nearly Sh1 billion ($10 million) in the construction of a new warehouse to increase its capacity for handling customers’ goods.

The cargo terminal will ease movement and storage of goods from the aircraft directly into storage.

The new warehouse, to be officially launched in July, has an estimated annual throughput volume of 60,000 million tonnes, up from the 10,000 tonnes capacity of the previous warehouse.

The new facility measures 5,000 square meters in floor space, 3,000 square meter cold of room space, 2,000 square meters of basement parking for transit vehicles and a 3,000 square meters office space. It also has a capacity to store 160 palletised cargo.
“The cargo terminal was constructed to meet the customers’ needs and drives to meet global trends in ground and air cargo handling,” said Moses Wahome, Divisional Manager, Siginon Aviation.

The warehouse has enabled the company to handle extra fresh produce shipments that add up to 120 metric tonnes in weekly exports.

Siginon’s previous location of the warehouse was away from the airport and posed difficulties in handling cargo and security. The new facility has reduced expenses earlier incurred in escorting of cargo to and from the JKIA terminal.

“The warehouse is more secure, it boosts efficiency because of its proximity to the airport and has a bigger capacity enabling us to handle more cargo. In addition, it has reduced the turnaround times for a number of our airline clients,” said Mr Wahome.

The new warehouse has helped the company to secure key global certifications that enables it to sign partnerships with global airlines.

The company already has partnerships with several companies including Cargolux, Singapore Airlines and Safari Express.

Besides the cargo centre located at the JKIA, Siginon has another facility located in Eldoret International Airport.