Mombasa to remain a port of choice - survey
By A STAFF WRITER
The EastAfrican
Is the Mombasa port's dominance of the transshipment cargo business in the East African region under serious threat?
That has been the question on the minds of observers following the recent political crisis in Kenya that caused unprecedented disruption of transport activity on routes serving the country's landlocked neighbours.
A recent survey that looked at competition for transit cargo between East Africa's two largest ports - Mombasa and Dar es Salaam - has predicted that the Kenyan port is still likely to remain the port of choice for exporters and importers in the region in the near future.
Conducted in the month of February by the management of the Kenya Ports Authority in conjunction with the Kenya High Commission in Tanzania, the study found that the latter country's two major ports of Dar es Salaam and Tanga had intractable problems that prevented them taking full advantage of the problems in Mombasa during the political crisis.
The team of researchers that conducted the survey spent one full month driving continuously around the main road links in the region in a "recce" that saw them traverse the entire Central Corridor from Dar es Salaam through Morogoro, Dodoma, Singida, Isaka, Kahama, Benaco, Rusumo Mutukula, Bukoba, Mwanza, Serari, Arusha, Moshi, Korogwe, Tanga and Chalinze and back to Dar es Salaam.
In total, the journey covered a distance of 4,221 kilometres.
The East African region has two main transport corridors - the Northern Corridor connecting Mombasa to the Ugandan border towns of Malaba and Busia, and the Central Corridor linking Dar es Salaam through Bukoba to the landlocked countries of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Mombasa port dominates the transit cargo business in the region, commanding a market share of 88 per cent of transhipment cargo to Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi and Rwanda in 2005.
Right now, the Dar es Salaam port is experiencing an acute pile-up of cargo caused by inordinate delays in discharging ships.
According to estimates by shipping lines, it takes between 12 and 13 days for a ship to be discharged at the port.
In the thick of the recent political crisis in Kenya and the consequent disruption of transport business on the Northern Corridor, landlocked Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi were beginning to seek alternative sea routes.
Authorities in Kenya have been especially concerned about recent events that suggested that Tanzania was moving to capitalise on that country's problems.
Such has been the anxiety that some observers were beginning to read a grand conspiracy against the Mombasa port.
The perception was given credence by a recent upsurge in diplomatic activity between Tanzania and its landlocked neighbours.
In a period of just one month, literally all the landlocked countries - Uganda, Burundi, and Rwanda - have sent high-powered ministerial delegations to Dar es Salaam to asses the port's capacity to handle more cargo.
Tanzania port authorities had also only recently signed memoranda of understanding with Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda - all of them on the subject of transit cargo.
New developments at the Dar port itself and what seems like a new push by Tanzanian authorities to improve the main railway link with Kigali combined to entrench the impression that Mombasa's competitive advantage in the region was at last under serious threat.
Only recently, Tanzania contracted Oceania Advanced Industries of Israel to dredge all its 11 berths. The deal was concluded with alacrity, suggesting that the country was moving quickly to take advantage of the political turmoil in Kenya.
The dredging project - estimated to cost $4 million - is expected to commence from March 2008 and to be completed in 32 weeks.
Authorities say the newly dredged facilities will improve ship turnaround times and enable large ocean-going vessels to dock at Dar port.
Another dredging project is on the cards at the Kigoma port. Mombasa's competitiveness is also threatened by the developments at the Isaka Dry Port.
On January 25 this year, officials of Burlington Northern Santa Fe, the US firm awarded the tender to construct the Isaka-Kigali railway line, were in Dar es Salaam to hold discussions with President Jakaya Kiwete.
Isaka Dry Port was built in 1993 by Tanzania Railway Corporation to serve northern Tanzania and the landlocked countries. It started operations in 1994.
Isaka is strategically located on the main artery of the Central Corridor. Recently, the Rwandan government acquired 14 acres of land next to the inland container depot (ICD) on which it intends to build its own container depot dedicated to stacking and sorting Rwandese cargo.
In addition, there are plans to construct a railway line from Kigali to Bujumbura in Burundi and possibly link Tanzania's central railway line with the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (Tazara) to ease movement of cargo between South Africa and both Tanzania and its northern neighbours.
There are three major road links on the Central Corridor. The Dar es Salaam-Dodoma-Isaka-Mutukula route into Uganda covers a total of 1,611 kilometres.
According to the study by KPA and the Kenya High Commission in Tanzania, the road is in very good condition, apart from a short stretch of 60 kilometres between Chikuyu and Manyoni.
The distance between Mutukula and Kampala is 301 kilometres, bringing the entire stretch from Dar es Salaam to Kampala through Mutukula to 1,912 kilometres.
The second link is the Dar-Dodoma-Rusumo route into Kigali covering a total of 1,546 kilometres.
Finally, there is the 1,640 kilometre stretch linking Dar es Salaam to Bujumbura through Nyakanazi.
Cargo can also be transported to Burundi on Lake Tanganyika via lake ferry from the Kigoma port to Bujumbura port - a distance of 200 kilometres.
The main railway line through the Central Corridor runs from Dar es Salaam to Isaka. It is also linked to Mwanza on the northern and to Kigoma on the southern shores of the lake.
Cargo destined for Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and DR Congo can be railed to Isaka Dry Port and subsequently loaded on trucks.
Cargo can also be moved over Lake Victoria between the ports of Kisumu, Port Bell, Kigoma, Bujumbura, Mwanza and Bukoba.
http://www.nationmedia.com/eastafrican/current/News/news100320089.htm