This archive report was first published on 12 November 2019.
According to the port's operator, the Mombasa port has seen a significant increase in cargo handling in the first nine months of 2019. The port handled 25.45 million tonnes of cargo between January and September, a 9% increase compared to the same period in 2018.
The increase in cargo handling is attributed to the port's greater handling capacity and the rise in cargo headed to neighboring countries. The port handles imports and exports for Kenya and other countries including Uganda, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, and Burundi.
Container traffic increased by 10.7% to 1.06 million Twenty feet equivalent units (TEUS) over the nine-month period, while cargo destined for other countries was up 136.8% to 1.87 million tons from 791,257 tonnes realised during a similar period in 2018.
The Mombasa port was expanded in 2012, with the first phase of the expansion project partially financed by Japan being inaugurated in 2016. The new container terminal, which was part of the expansion project, handled 381,288 TEUs in the period January – September 2018/2019, equivalent to 36.0 percent of the total container traffic handled in the Port.
Kenya is also building a second port in Lamu, north of Mombasa, with a capacity of 23 million tonnes per year.
