THE PORT OF MOMBASA – 10 FAST FACTS
- The Port of Mombasa is the largest port north of Durban, on the coast of East Africa. It is also the only international port in Kenya.
- It is located on the site of one of Africa’s oldest surviving harbours, The Old Port, and can be traced back to a time when Arabian Dhows called the area, before the arrival of Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama.
- The port is managed by Kenyan Ports Authority (KPA) a parastatal fully owned by the Kenya Government, and comprises Kilindi Harbour, Port Reitz, the Old Port, Port Tudor, and all the tidal water encircling Mombasa Island.
- Next to The Old Port is Fort Jesus, which was built after the arrival of the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama, when the Portuguese were pioneering a a sea route from Europe that went via the southern tip of Africa.
- In the 18th and 19th centuries, Kenya was colonised by the British, along with Ugandan, and Tanzania by Germany, causing an economically and politically partitioned region.
- To facilitate regional trade, a railway from Mombasa to Kampala in Uganda was constructed in 1895 which opened up the pathway for trade of coffee, tea, ivory and skins to the interior. This necessitated the development of a new port, which too place in 1896. ever increasingly busy seaport.
- The current port is equipped with 2 container terminals, 2 bulk oil jetties, 2 bulk cement jetties, 3 silos and 10 conventional cargo berths, meaning it is equipped to hand grain, fertilizers, cement, soda ash, liquid bulk as well as bagged products, break bulk, motor vehicles, machinery and containerised cargo.
- A new standard gauge railway between Mombasa and Nairobi was completed in 2017 with extensions to Naivasha and Kisumu, and finally to the Uganda border at Malab being planned.
- The Port of Mombasa is working hard to become a “greener” port, and now also uses Eco Hoppers, introduced in 2017. There is a really feel-good humang story to read about this, here. These have sped up operations due to their ability to scoop and load more cargo than the traditional and this has significantly improved resource efficiency, also allowing trucks to move faster in and out of the port.
- In terms of exports, Kenya has been a net buyer of commodities from the EU, with imports reaching US$1,9 billion in 2019. Whereas Kenya only exported US$916 million to the EU during the same period. This has prompted trade talks with teams from various ministries for discussion on investment opportunities, trade relations and barriers, to assist Kenya in achieving higher exports to Europe.
DID YOU KNOW, we currently have a great Special on at Mombasa Port – click here for details!