Mombasa port marks 10% cargo surge in Jan-Sept

November 21, 2017: Kenya's main port, Mombasa, handled 10.6 percent more cargo in the first nine months of this year, in comparison to the same period in 2016.

The surge comes in wake of the expansion of its handling capacity and a new railway system, the port’s management has stated.

The Port of Mombasa is a maritime gateway for countries like Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The surge was marked despite uncertainty surrounding national elections in August, which was nullified and then rerun in October.

As per media reports, imports accounted for 19.3 million tonnes, up from 17.4 million in the same 2016 period, an increase of 10.4 percent. The port handled 2.8 million tonnes in exports, up 3.2 percent on the 2.7 million tonnes in the same period last year. Transit traffic increased by 8.5 percent to 6.5 million tonnes from 5.9 million.

Uganda remained the biggest transit market, accounting for 81 percent of all transit cargo.