Business is steadily picking up at the newly opened Naivasha Inland Container Depot (ICD).
All the government agencies led by the Kenya Ports Authority are said to be on the ground to offer services to ensure smooth cargo off-take.
According to a statement Wednesday by Kenya Ports Authority, those on the ground include Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) and Kenya Railways Corporation. Regional Customs Authorities namely Uganda Revenue Authority, Rwanda Revenue Authority, Burundi Revenue Authority and South Sudan Revenue Authority are also present to collect revenue for cargo destined to the various transit countries.
The Naivasha Inland Container Depot has a total ground slots capacity of 5000 TEUs and has adequate equipment including Reach Stackers and Terminal Tractors.
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Currently the ICD receives one full container train of 108teus every week from Mombasa for the transit market.
It is envisaged that the facility will be receiving two trains per day once at its best.
KPA now says transit countries are now taking advantage of the new facility to collect their cargo at the depot saving the time and distance to Mombasa or Nairobi.
“This also helps to reduce congestion on our roads. Shipping Lines and Freight Forwarders have expressed their interest to establish themselves at the strategic depot to handle transit cargo.” Said the statement.
Already some of the lines have began to bring containers on a Through Bill of Lading(TBL) to Naivasha.
Mr. Paul Mwakisha, National Manager, Overland & Customs Brokerage, Kuenhe +Nagel, expressed his satisfaction with the operations at the dry port.
He noted that the ICD presents a great opportunity for better handling of transit cargo on TBL.
Kuenhe + Nagel who are the largest cargo movers in the world are looking for offices at the Depot to open a branch to serve their transit clients. They handle cargo for D. R Congo, Rwanda, Uganda and South Sudan.
They are also planning to do export for dry cargo through the depot where it will be consolidated and railed to Mombasa for shipping.
Other shipping lines and agents who have visited the facility recently are Express Shipping Limited, Bolore and SPEDAG.
Meanwhile, the Kenya Ports Authority is now making plans to create more facilities for smooth operations.
Plans are underway to construct a proper administration block that will house the one-stop center and provide office accommodation for cargo interveners, expand the yard to create more capacity and also construct a trucks holding yard.
On May 7th 2020, Transport, Infrastructure, Housing, Urban Development and Public Works Cabinet Secretary Mr. James Macharia conducted an inspection tour of the facility to assess its readiness for business.
The CS who was accompanied by Transport Principal Secretary Mr. Solomon Kitungu, Chief Administrative Secretary Dr Rashid Aman and heads of partner agencies witnessed the arrival of the first SGR cargo train with 200 TEUs destined to Uganda.
KPA Acting Managing Director Eng. Rashid Salim, Kenya Revenue Authority Commissioner General Mr. James Mburu Githii, Kenya Railways Managing Director Mr. Philip Mainga, Kenya Railways Chairman Major Gen (Rtd) Pastor Awitta and KPA’s Head of Inland Container Depots Mr. Peter Masinde were among those present.
The new facility’s major role is to facilitate direct shipment of goods from the Port of Mombasa to Naivasha via SGR thus shortening the distance to the transit markets.
Naivasha ICD also comes in handy to minimize transit trucks entering Nairobi which is most affected at the time the country is battling COVID-19.
