In essence, the role of these CFS facilities is to offtake containers rapidly from KPA’s Kilindini terminal and move them by truck or tractor, in bond, to a yard beyond the dock gates. In the yard, these containers are prepared for oncarriage by road to upcountry destinations, with LCL containers being stripped for consignees to collect their cargo directly. (Rail-hauled containers go directly to the KPA facility at Embakasi, just outside Nairobi.) After some experiments to decide which CFS should receive what cargo, KPA has opted for a system whereby containers discharged by certain carriers are allocated to different freight station operators. Even with a 24-hour operation, it can often take more than two days to move all the containers from one large vessel to a nearby yard.
The biggest operators, MCT and Consolbase, are located at nearby Changamwe and both operate 40,000 square metre container yards, plus warehousing. Containers are stacked four-high and each yard can accommodate 2,200 teu at a time. Average dwell time is nine days. It is estimated that 50 per cent of all containers discharged in Mombasa now go to a local CFS.
Since October 2009, however, the existing CFSs have been free to handle transit cargoes, which previously had a period of grace while on premises controlled by KPA. In addition to moving and storing containers, the CFS facilities are used for car handling. Vehicles are taken directly from the vessel’s ramp to the off-dock yard where they can be cleared for import.
TRANSIT CARGOES Until late 2009 only Kenya-bound cargo was diverted to the CFS facilities. Transit cargoes, which make up 35 to 40 per cent of the containers discharged in Mombasa, have continued to be handled in the traditional way. But there have been plans to set up dedicated ‘national’ freight stations for Uganda, Rwanda and some others.
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