Speech by the kenya ports authority managing director

WELCOME

REMARKS

BY

THE

KENYA

PORTS

AUTHORITY

MANAGING DIRECTOR, MRS. CATHERINE MTURI-WAIRI, DURING THE INTERMODAL AFRICA CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION HELD ON 17TH NOVEMBER 2016 AT SAROVA WHITESANDS HOTEL MOMBASA

The Representative of the Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development, Mr. Philip Charo His Excellency the Governor of Mombasa, Hassan Ali Joho, The CEO Transport Events. Mr Rory Doyle Distinguished participants All invited guests, Ladies and gentlemen Good morning,

I am pleased to welcome you all to the lovely Port city of Mombasa. Other than the changes you may have noticed in the physical growth of the City and its environs, the region still abounds with unique warm weather and sparkling white sandy beaches. As I was writing down these remarks, my memory went back to 2003 when we hosted the inaugural Intermodal Africa conference in this City and at this venue. What an interesting coincidence!

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The customer Ladies and Gentlemen, In the next two days we will be expected to deliberate on how we can improve service delivery to our various customers.

As we prepare to do this, it is my hope that our focus shall consistently be on how we shall work towards meeting the needs of the customers which are dynamic in nature. For example shipping lines are interested in quick turnaround times to enable them make more voyages and increase their earnings. On the other hand importers want to receive their goods just in time to reduce overstocking while meeting their requirements. The exporters also want their products to reach markets in time and at competitive costs to satisfy their customers. Delivery times are expected to be shorter, and costs lower.

Time is therefore increasingly becoming a key competitive factor in the market.

How fast and efficiently cargo can be moved, discharged and delivered to its final destination is the most important aspect in the logistics chain. There must therefore be synergies all round.

Ports, especially African Ports, need to increase their investment in infrastructure development to facilitate trade and cope with growing customer demands.

I am glad to share that in this part of the region, we have remained responsive to the needs of the customer. For instance, if you are among those who last 2|Page

visited Mombasa 10 or so years ago, I am sure you have noticed the ongoing infrastructure and super-structure developments. As you came in from the airport you must have seen the road construction works. If you had a chance to tour the Port yesterday, you will have seen the improvement we have made to the infrastructure.

We have just completed the construction of the first phase of the second container terminal. This phase brings on board an additional capacity of 550,000 TEUs p.a. The construction of phase 2 is expected to commence mid next year, and will bring an additional capacity of 450,000 TEUs. Phase 3 will come later on.

To enhance cargo delivery we have implemented a comprehensive ICT system that includes a terminal operating system, an ERP for back office operations and a VTMIS. This, together with the ISS system and modern cargo handling equipment has greatly improved our operations, cargo clearance procedures and security.

As you may be aware, the region is set to exploit huge reserves of oil and gas.

In this regard we will construct a modern oil handling facility with the capacity to handle four vessels of up to 100,000 DWT, with an LPG line. To boost the cruise tourism sector we are constructing a modern cruise reception facility at berth number 1.

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Port Performance Distinguished participants, Allow me to share a few aspects of our performance that has also grown in leaps and bounds over the last ten years. In 2015, we handled a total of 26.7 Million tons against a total throughput of 15.9 million tons handled in 2007.

On the container side, we handled a total of 1.076 million TEUs compared to 585, 367 TEUs in 2007.

Currently, net moves per hour is 30 compared to 12 moves in 2007 while Ship turnaround time is 2.9 days compared to 3.7 days in 2007. Import container dwell time is currently 4.2 days compared to 12.6 days in 2007.

Ladies and gentlemen, traffic growth in the last ten years has almost doubled, partly owing to the investments I have mentioned above and more importantly due to the consistent support from our parent ministry, major port stakeholders and of course the benefits we derive from fora such as these which play a key role in informing our development decisions.

It is also worth noting that beyond Mombasa Port, we are facilitating government efforts to build other ports along the coastline including the mega commercial Port in Lamu whose construction is underway. The new port is aimed at opening a transport corridor linking Kenya to South Sudan and Ethiopia, enhancing regional trade and integration.

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We cannot talk about ports without offtake, hence intermodalism. Towards this end the government of Kenya is about to complete the construction of a SGR linking the port of Mombasa to its hinterland. The SGR, expected to move about 1,000 containers per day will be a game changer to trade facilitation in the region.

Looking at the topics lined up for discussion in the next two days, it is gratifying to note that they cover a wide range of very interesting and thought provoking subjects relating to current trends in intermodal transport. I urge you to approach the deliberations with open minds with a view to bringing out salient issues, challenges and probable solutions.

Before I invite our chief guest I want to welcome our visitors to take time out to sample our rich coastal culture and cuisine.

With those few remarks, may I now welcome Mr. Philip Charo to address this gathering on behalf of the Cabinet Secretary, and to officially open the conference and exhibition.

Thank you and May God bless you

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