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Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good afternoon.

May I welcome you to our anniversary celebration to mark the silver jubilee since the inception of the Kenya Ports Authority- Kampala Liaison office. We sincerely appreciate your commitment and determination to attend this event despite the prevailing unprecedented challenges of COVID-19 pandemic. Karibuni sana!

Before I proceed, I request that we observe one minute of silence in respect of our departed industry colleagues both in Uganda and Kenya. It is sad that we lost key people during and before the pandemic including the former Chairman KACITA Uganda, the late Everest Kayondo, the Executive Director Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) Gideon Badagawa, among others

(A minute of silence)

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Kampala Liaison Office was established in 1996 to specifically bring services closer home, build strong relationships, goodwill, and manage customer issues efficiently.

I would like to underscore that the presence of this office has evidently reinforced KPA’s commitment to facilitating Uganda’s import and export business passing through the Port of Mombasa. From Kampala, we are able to execute documentation and cargo tracking for consignments that are at the Port. Additionally, clients can now pay directly to the Kenya Ports Authority either through cash bank deposits or online payments from the comfort of their offices. The presence of this office has therefore reduced time taken on feedback on status of cargo and verification of port charges. This has also helped to get rid of fraudsters who were conning first-time importers/exporters. This esteemed office has also gone an extra mile of profiling clients so that special attention is accorded according to their unique needs.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

At the birth of the Kampala Liaison Office in 1996, the Port of Mombasa had handled a total of 1.21 million tons of cargo for Uganda, representing a 14.0 percent of port total throughput of 8.7 million tons. This contributed 38.8 percent of the total transit traffic market share of 3.1 million tons.

Over the years, the market share has grown, where during the last five years 2016-2020, the average market share for Uganda has reached 23.7 percent of the total volumes of cargo passing through the Port of Mombasa. During the same period the market share for Uganda against transit segment has also increased to record 80.8 percent. The figures are therefore a testament of the important role this office continues to play for our business.

We are alive to the dynamics of the port and shipping industry, and we have accordingly continued to make appropriate investments towards modernization and expansion of our port facilities. In 1996, the Port of Mombasa had only one container terminal with 16 Berths out of which three were specialized for container handling. Today, the Port boasts of two container terminals, a total of 19 Berths with six specialized container Berths.

Development projects

Ladies and gentlemen,

May I take this opportunity to share with you some of the capacity expansion projects we are undertaking in response to customer needs.

Construction of Second Container Terminal (CT2) Phase II

We have made substantive progress in constructing the second Container Terminal. Phase one has been operational since 2016. Phase two is ongoing and shall be ready by Mid-2022. Once ready, the container capacity of the Port of Mombasa shall grow from 1.65 million TEUs to 2.2 million TEUs.

Relocation of Kipevu Oil Terminal (KOT)

The project is about relocation of Kipevu Oil Terminal for safety reasons and to increase handling capacity. The new KOT will have all facilities for off-loading crude oil, refined petroleum, and LPG. Upon completion, the Authority will have a bigger terminal consisting of four berths capable of berthing four vessels of up to 170,000 DWTs at ago. Construction of this new KOT commenced in 2018 and is expected to be completed by December 2021.

Port of Lamu

The construction of phase 1 (first 3 berths) and yard is complete. The first berth was operationalized on May 20,2021 and has so far received nine vessel calls. We have plans underway to procure additional state of the art equipment to ensure efficient delivery of services is sustained at this second commercial port.

Expansion of Kipevu Road

With support from Trademark East Africa (TMEA), in 2018 the Authority embarked on expansion of the 2-way dual carriage Kipevu Road from Changamwe roundabout to Gate 18. The road which is completed has been widened to provide seamless connection to ease flow of traffic into and out of the port.

Cruise Terminal

The shed at Berths 1 and 2 was converted into a modern cruise ship terminal which is complete and ready for use.

The ultra-modern facility has provision for passenger reception, duty free shops, restaurants, conference facilities and office spaces for tourism stakeholders.

Kisumu Port

Kisumu Port has been rehabilitated and so far, we have witnessed improved performance. I am glad to note that one of the notable achievements was the repair of the vessel MV Uhuru. The vessel makes an average of 10 trips per month ferrying fuel from Kisumu to here in Uganda. We are now focusing on phase II of the project which is redevelopment of the Kisumu Port expansion and other feeder ports to complement Kisumu.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

let me now say something about port performance.  

Port performance

The market served by the Port of Mombasa have experienced economic downturns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Reduced cargo demand and supply led to reduced port throughput in 2020. Total cargo throughput was 34.12 million tons against 34.44 million tons in 2019, representing a marginal decline of 0.9 percent. Container traffic declined by 4.0 percent, registering 1.36 million TEUs in 2020 compared to 1.417 million TEUs registered in 2019.

Transshipment market was equally affected, declining by 16.9 percent. The good news though is that despite the impact of the pandemic, total transit traffic registered a growth of 2.2 percent, recording 10.17 million tons compared to 9.95 million tons handled in 2019. Uganda’s traffic however, declined from 8.13 million tons in 2019 to 7.7 million tons in 2020.

Port performance January – September 2021

On the brighter side, notable resilience has been observed this year.  Hence in January – September 2021, the Port of Mombasa handled 26.17 million tons compared to 25.05 million tons in the corresponding period in 2020. This is an increase of 1.12 million tons translating to a growth of 4.4 percent.  In the same period, the port witnessed increased volumes in container traffic registering 1,099,554 TEUs against 1,006,087 TEUs recorded in a similar period in 2020. This translates to an increase of 93,467 TEUs or 9.3 percent.

Equally, in the period under review, the Port registered 7.2 million tons total transit cargo in 2021 against 7.6 million tons witnessed in the corresponding period in 2020. This translates to a decline of 417,236 tons or 5.5 percent. Uganda’s volumes dropped from 5.76 million tons in 2020 to 5.5 million tons in 2021.

Mombasa Port is at the forefront in facilitating a quick economic recovery as the regional trade continues to pick up in the countries that depend on it. Despite the marginal improvement in performance, KPA acknowledges that inherent challenges still exist, and there’s no doubt that the measures we are putting in place will provide the much-needed solutions to accelerate economic recovery. We are therefore confident of recording increased business volumes in the remaining part of the year.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As we celebrate our performance, I would like to appreciate the Uganda business community for your loyalty and continued business support during the tough and good times over the years.

Finally, allow me to also recognize the strong partnerships we continue enjoying with partner government agencies especially the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), stakeholders and customers.

Some of the undertakings that we have achieved jointly with stakeholders include:

• Mapping and designing of the Business Process under the Single Customs Territory.
• Training of Uganda Clearing and Forwarding Agents at URA Training School.
• The E-Bomba Business Workshop hosted by URA.

KPA has also been sponsoring and participating in workshops hosted by Uganda Shippers Council (USC), Uganda Clearing Industry and Forwarding Association (UCIFA), Uganda Freight Forwarders Association (UFFA) and Uganda Chamber of Mines and Petroleum (UCMP).

We have also continued to make community interventions as guided by our Corporate Social Investment policy which focuses on health, education, sports, and other humanitarian causes.

Such interventions have been witnessed in areas like the Rotary Club of Kololo and the Entebbe Welfare Center.

May I conclude by reiterating our resolve and commitment to serving the people of Uganda and indeed the entire East African Community. WE once again re-assure you that the Port of Mombasa belongs to us all and your constructive proposals and views as to how we can make it serve us better will always be welcome.

Thank you and God bless you.