French logistics firm Bolloré Africa Logistics has again indicated its interest in operating the second container terminal at Mombasa once that terminal has been completed.
Mombasa’s second container terminal is currently being constructed by the Kenya Ports Authority, which is on record as saying that an outside operator will be sought to run the terminal. The second terminal will increase Mombasa’s container capacity by 1.2 million TEUs and increasing the port of Mombasa’s capacity to 2.1m TEU
Bolloré hasn’t been shy in making its intentions clear. “We have been in Kenya for 45 years and have been interested to run Mombasa on a concession for a long time. I had thought about it as far back as 15 years,” said Dominique Lafont President and CEO of Bolloré Logistics Africa.
Lafont said that Mombasa’s position as a regional shipment hub could be entrenched by being operated by a private operator. He added that the rapport that Bolloré Logistics Africa has with vessel owners could also increase traffic to Mombasa.
He saw Mombasa as the major gateway not only for Kenya’s East African neighbours of Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), but also its northern neighbours of South Sudan and Ethiopia. “Mombasa should become the driving port in East Africa as a natural regional transhipment centre.” Mombasa has been adversely affected in the past by inefficiencies resulting in congestion, which saw some cargo owners switching to the Tanzanian port of Dar es Salaam, but stern action has been taken recently to ensure that containers are moved speedily out of the port, which has resulted in a marked improvement. Last month (June), 25 agencies consisting of the government and its agencies along with private sector businesses, signed a ‘Community Charter’ as a binding pact with the aim of improving efficiency at the Port of Mombasa and eliminating cargo delays completely by 2016.