The number of long haul trucks passing through the Mariakani
weighbridge on the Nairobi-Mombasa highway was three times lower at
2,259 trucks per month by December 2019, compared with 6,400 trucks per
month in 2017 before the onset of the standard gauge railway freight
services.
The latest Northern
Corridor report shows that Mariakani weighbridge recorded average
monthly traffic of about 2,495 mainly originating from Mombasa port.
Before
the introduction of SGR freight services, the Mariakani weighbridge
registered an average of 6,400 trucks monthly, but this number has been
dropping since the Kenya Ports Authority introduced ex-hook railage,
where cargo is offloaded direct from ship-to-rail wagon.
In
October 2019, for example, the weighbridge registered 2,687 trucks
weighed in the facility reducing to 2,539 in November and closing the
year with only 2,259 trucks.
YARD CONGESTION
In the numbers registered, most of the trucks were ferrying cargo to northern Tanzania through Voi-Taveta road.
Shippers have attributed the increase use of SGR services to the benefits traders are getting from the service.
“SGR
offers a fast mode of transport, hence it benefits importers who want
their cargo to be availed on time,” said Geoffrey Ng’ang’a, one of the
importers.
At Athi River weighbridge, data indicate four-fold traffic when compared with Mariakani weighbridge.
The highest traffic at Athi River weighbridge includes from Mombasa, Nairobi surrounding environs and Namanga border point.
In
October, report from Northern Corridor indicates 10,228 trucks passed
through the facility while 10,805 and 11,755 used the weighbridge in
November and December 2019 respectively.
Following
the commencement of SGR freight operations in 2018, the cargo handled
by the ICD increased from an average of 30 twenty-foot equivalent unit
(TEUs) per day to 1,300 TEUs per day end of December 2019.
KPA
managing director Daniel Manduku said quick evacuation of cargo by SGR
to the ICD in Nairobi has helped eradicate yard congestion. On average
last year, Nairobi ICD received seven trains per day carrying an average
of 106 Teus of imports from Mombasa daily while downstream, the ICD
handled average of five trains daily.
The
ICD’s throughput for 2018 was 257,000 Teus which accounted for 57 per
cent of capacity utilisation and 418,830 Teus in 2019; accounting for 93
per cent against an installed capacity of 450,000 Teus.
The
volume of exports, including empty containers from Nairobi ICD to
Mombasa increased by 94 per cent from 80,320 TEUs in 2018 to 155,935
TEUs in 2019.
However, it is noted that the volume of empty containers accounted for the majority of total exports TEUs.
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