Mombasa Port expansion running ahead of schedule

The Mombasa Port expansion project, which involves the construction of a new cargo berth and dredging at the Kilindini channel, is running ahead of schedule, a senior official has said.

Speaking to journalists during a recent tour of Vision 2030 flagship projects, Principal Civil Engineer David Amadi said the project was ahead of schedule by five months and was set to be ready next month ahead of the planned completion in August this year.

“The dredging exercise when completed will increase the depth of the access channel and widen it to 300 metres at its narrowest point to enable the docking of larger vessels,” Mr Amadi said adding that the project will provide the port with the capacity to handle larger cargo volumes.

Speaking during the tour, Andrew Toboso, the director of strategy for Vision 2030, said the modernization operations currently under-way at the port would provide Kenya and the region with the capacity to handle larger vessels and cargo volumes.

“The port’s capacity and efficiency will improve immensely, partly due to the modernization efforts being put in place with the acquisition of modern equipment to handle larger vessels and cargo volumes,” said Mr Toboso.

Mr Toboso said that the expansion of the port will speed up the completion of the Dongo Kundu bypass, which is expected to provide the required infrastructure to develop the Mombasa free trade zone similar to the one in Dubai.

The project, which commenced last year, is funded by the Kenyan government to the tune of Sh10 billion – with dredging taking about Sh5.2 billion.

Van Oord Dredging and Marine Contractors of Netherlands won the multi-million shilling dredging tender, while China Roads and Bridge Corporation was contracted to construct the new cargo berth.

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