Japanese giants Toyota Tsusho, Mitsui win Sh6.8bn cargo cranes deal

The Mombasa Port. FILE PHOTO | NMG 

By VICTOR JUMA

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Summary

• Latest deal raises the total value of the contracts to Sh9.3 billion, making the multinationals major beneficiaries of the port modernisation that is being funded by yen loans from Jica.

Japanse conglomerates Toyota Tsusho and Mitsui have won a new Sh6.8 billion contract to install cargo cranes at the port of Mombasa after signing a similar tender in 2014 that earned them Sh2.5 billion.

This raises the total value of the contracts to Sh9.3 billion, making the multinationals major beneficiaries of the port modernisation that is being funded by yen loans from Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica).

“In November 2017, the group (Toyota Tsusho) and Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co., Ltd were jointly awarded a contract to supply 16 cargo cranes for Kenya’s Port of Mombasa development project, the largest commercial port in East Africa,” Toyota said in a trading update.

The multinational said the new project signed with Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) is worth ¥7.2 billion (Sh6.8 billion) and is set for completion around 2020.

This is the second phase of the port development, which is set to significantly raise its goods handling capacity from the current equivalent of 1.3 million 20-foot containers.

Cargo throughput at the port is projected to nearly double to an equivalent of 2.4 million 20-foot containers in eight years.

The new contract covers four gantry cranes for quayside operations and 12 transfer cranes for yard operations, all manufactured by Mitsui.

The crane types are the same as those delivered in phase one of the project, Toyota said.

READ: Kenya moves to harmonise cargo clearance at sea port

For Toyota, the crane deals mark its deepening ties in Kenya’s economy, having established an office in Nairobi to secure contracts in the region.

“Through this project to export high-quality Japanese infrastructure, Toyota Tsusho will contribute to enhancing logistics in Kenya and East Africa while bolstering regional economic development,”said the multinational.

The firm’s local investments include new motor vehicle dealerships Toyota Kenya, DT Dobie, and CICA Motors.

It also owns used-car dealership Toyotsu Auto Mart and was part of a consortium that built KenGen’s Olkaria I and IV geothermal plants.

Toyota also recently opened a fertiliser blending plant in Eldoret as part of its plans to venture into more sectors including oil. Toyota’s expansion in Kenya has been aided by a co-operation agreement it signed with the Kenyan government.