DP World develops first inland dry port in East Africa
DP World and the government of Rwanda have set up a state-of-the-art logistics
Nov 15, 2018: DP World and the government of Rwanda have set up a state-of-the-art logistics hub, located 20 kilometres from Kigali, close to the international airport. The facility is East Africa’s first-ever inland dry port developed by DP World.
DP World Kigali (DPWK) is a secure, bonded facility spread over 13 hectares and features an inland container terminal (ICT) with modern warehousing capacity, a container yard, administrative and services buildings, parking areas and other facilities.
DPWK accesses two secure trade gateways for eastern Africa, the port of Mombasa in Kenya and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. Rwanda is working closely with Tanzania on a new standard gauge railway from Dar es Salaam to Kigali that will add a direct rail corridor to the two existing road routes, further improving connectivity for containers and bulk goods.
Currently, the cost of transport of a 20-foot container from Shanghai, China to Mombasa costs anywhere between $500 - $1,000. The cost of transport of the same container from Mombasa to Kigali varies between $3,000 - $4,000. The introduction of DPWK will serve the inland logistics problems, delays and cost by providing a one-stop shop for all logistics requirements and cargo services.
The facility offers container handling, stuffing and de-stuffing, warehousing, storage and other cargo handling services. Imports from overseas can be routed through Kigali Logistics Platform for onward distribution to the surrounding countries of Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the DRC, a growing region of over 40 million people.
Customs officers at the incoming port use highly advanced e-tags, to seal incoming containers. These active RFID tags allow real-time tracking of cargoes on route to Kigali, for complete transparency and added security. A dedicated customs team inside DPWK handles final customs clearances.
DPWK is also establishing a road transport solution that will allow clients to fully outsource their end-to-end logistics needs, including international shipments, clearances, repacking and final deliveries. DP World’s single-window cargo management system and other investments in IT and automation will further increase efficiency and reduce costs. These are savings that can be passed down along the supply chain to drive more growth in the region’s economy.