How Mombasa Port is battling congestion with 19 billion project

The cargo surge experienced by the port of Mombasa last year and continued this year, has raised concerns of a massive congestion in the coming months even as Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) management embarks on a new project; the construction of berth 19B that started mid this year.

Last week, KPA received the first-ever conventional cargo vessel, Mv Van Melody, at the Lamu port, carrying break bulk cargo.

The vessel offloaded 129 coils, equivalent to 3,550 tonnes, which is designated for the local manufacture of precast piles: An essential component for the upcoming construction of Berth 19B that is expected to ease congestion.

Already, private Container Freight Stations (CFSs) that had been operating below capacity since the introduction of Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) and commissioning of the new Container Terminal Two (CT2) are currently handling more containers following the growing congestion at Mombasa port.

Last week, KPA management said the authority will continue to invest in port infrastructure development and operations to boost efficiency and customer experience.

General Manager Corporate Services Edward Kamau, said the roll out of key projects including the construction of berth 19B, equipment modernisation and the new terminal operating systems were among the authority’s projects to improve service delivery.

He said focus was also on the port of Lamu which recently received 32 ships including the first conventional cargo vessel last week.

Kamau spoke when he officiated the KPA’s Cooperate Golf dinner award ceremony at the Muthaiga Golf Club in Nairobi.

Lamu port that currently boasts of three deep berths is being positioned as KPA’s transshipment hub in the region.

‘’Alongside continued excellent performance is also the new Port of Lamu. It has steadied itself and has growing traffic with a record 32 vessels docking last month including 13 container vessels,’’ Kamau noted.

The contractor has been uprooting old piles at the space that was formerly the old Kipevu Oil Terminal (KOT) to prepare for the construction of the new berth.

Improved infrastructure

A recent visit to berth 19B found that heavy machinery mounted on barges were preparing ground including demolishing old concrete piles that held the old terminal to allow for erecting new piles for the container berth.

The upcoming berth is an extension of berth 19 that was constructed way back in 2016. The new KOT was built offshore at a cost of Sh40 billion.

KPA Managing Director Captain William Ruto and China Communication Construction Company (CCCC) Managing Director Yu Xiaodong signed an agreement for the construction of the berth in March this year.

The draft of the new quay is 12.2 metres. The structure is an open piled suspended structure-steel piles with a concrete deck.

The project also includes design of crane rails for ship to shore gantry cranes weighing 980 tonnes with a rail gauge of 27.45 metres and establishment of about five hectares of adjacent container stacking areas for rubber tired transtainer gantry cranes, all paved with heavy duty pavement.

KPA contracted Niras to carry out the survey on the berth that is estimated to cost about US$ 64.4 million (Sh8.3 billion).

Better designing

The survey comprised an examination of piles (steel and concrete) and the condition of the reinforced concrete deck.

The project design includes a container yard, paving, crane rails and utilities.

Berth 19B will provide an addition capacity of 300,000 Twenty Foot Equivalent Units (TEU) and enhance strengthen Mombasa port’s position as a gate way to East and Central Africa amid rising competition from the port of Dar es Salaam. The new berth measures 240 metres long.

In July this year, Ruto announced that the port of Mombasa had registered 21.3 million tonnes between January and June.

He said this was an increase from 19.7 million tonnes handled in the same period in 2024, representing a growth of 1.6 million or 8.1 per cent.

“Against this backdrop and impressive results attained, we are excited and optimistic about the promising performance that lies ahead,” he stated.

Last year, the port of Mombasa experienced a 14 per cent cargo increase in cargo throughout handling 40.99 million tonnes compared to 35.98 million tonnes in 2023.

For the first time, the port handled two million twenty foot equivalent units TEU compared to 1.6 million teus in 2023 or a 24 percent growth.