This archive report was first published on 13 September 2019.
On September 13, 2019, the Kenyan Cabinet approved Sh6.9 billion for the development of an Inland Container Depot (ICD) in Naivasha, a move aimed at boosting trade routes and decongesting the Port of Mombasa.
The project, which has been shrouded in controversy, involves Kenya donating land to Uganda and South Sudan to woo them into using its trade routes. The development of the ICD is also set to boost the operations of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR).
According to the Cabinet, the Sh6.9 billion will be used to develop a railway marshalling yard, a logistics zone, and a public utility area. The move is also expected to benefit the second phase of the SGR from Nairobi to Naivasha, which has been allocated Sh55.8 billion in the current financial year.
The Naivasha ICD will be the fourth dry port in the country, following the ones in Eldoret, Nairobi's Embakasi, and Kisumu. However, it remains unclear when the money will be appropriated, as a search through the budget estimates for the 2019/20 financial year did not return any information.
It is possible that the Government might either do a supplementary budget or have it in the next budget. This comes at a time when there have been complaints that the dry port in Nairobi has been snatching jobs from Mombasa, especially after the Government compelled importers to use the SGR to evacuate their goods from the port of Mombasa.
Kenya has also granted South Sudan a 10-acre piece of land in Naivasha to build a dry port, while it will also offer Uganda land to build a dry port for its cargo in Naivasha as part of the joint SGR project between the two countries.
