VenturesNow

Kenyan Port of Mombasa, largest port in East Africa, records highest transshipment traffic

Published

3 years ago

April 13, 2022

The Mombasa Port in Kenya, reputed to be the largest in the whole of East Africa, is experiencing its highest volume of traffic in substantive transshipment business as more ships evade berthing delays and waiting at the neighboring Port of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.

Official statistics released on Tuesday by the Kenya Ports Authority indicate that at the beginning of this month, 7, 894 Twenty Feet Equivalent Units (TEUS) transshipment to the Dar es Salaam port landed at the Port of Mombasa to await nomination for second carriers to the ports of Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar.

The statistics also revealed that the Mombasa Port has witnessed a noticeable growth in transshipment volumes by an average of 2.5 percent in the last one month, making it one of the busiest in the world.

“Over the last one month, the Port of Mombasa has handled over 10 feeder ships transshipping from the Port of Dar es Salaam with containers advancing her opportunities for a regional transshipment hub.

“MSc Shipping Line, the second top on the world’s liner rankings has confirmed using the port of Mombasa until the situation normalizes in Dar es Salaam. Others include CMA CGM and Maersk Shipping Lines,” the Kenyan Ports Authority said.

The General Manager Operations, Sudi Mwasinago, also confirmed that amongst the shipping lines discharging transshipments at the Port of Mombasa for Dar es Salaam, MSC accounts for 75 percent of the total transshipment volumes while CMA CGM and Maersk accounted for 24 percent and 9 percent respectively.

He said following the significant rise in transshipment business, MSc increased to three feeder services to Mombasa, on a weekly basis service.

Mwasinago noted that the delay of the MSc vessels at the port of Dar es Salaam means that more traffic is diverted to the Port of Mombasa.

Related Topics:Featured Kenya Mombasa Port Shipping

Click to comment

VenturesNow

IMF mission concludes 4th loan program assessment in Egypt

Published

3 days ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Following the completion of a recent visit to Egypt, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that its mission had achieved significant strides in policy talks aimed at concluding the fourth review of the IMF loan program.

The review is the fourth in Egypt’s most recent 46-month IMF loan program, which was authorised in 2022 and increased to $8 billion this year following an economic crisis characterised by high inflation and chronic foreign exchange shortages. It may unleash more than $1.2 billion in financing.

Along with reaffirming its commitment to maintain a flexible exchange rate system, the IMF stated that Egypt “has implemented key reforms to preserve macroeconomic stability,” including the unification of the currency rate that facilitated imports.

Earlier on Wednesday, Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Cairo has asked the IMF to modify the targets for the programme not only for this year, but for its full duration, he added without giving more details.

“Discussions will continue over the coming days to finalize agreement on the remaining policies and reforms that could support the completion of the fourth review,” the IMF added in its statement.

VenturesNow

Kenya seeks $750m from World Bank, obtains $200m from AfDB— Official

Published

5 days ago

November 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The head of debt management for the finance ministry told Reuters that Kenya had obtained a $200 million loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and was negotiating a fresh $750 million loan with the World Bank.

After being forced to abandon proposed tax rises costing more than 346 billion shillings ($2.68 billion) in June due to fatal demonstrations, the East African nation’s administration, which has been grappling with significant debt, has been frantically seeking fresh funding.

The Finance Ministry’s public debt management office director general, Raphael Owino, told Reuters that the IMF’s October clearance of the seventh and eighth reviews, which opened the door for a $606 million loan tranche, had aided the ministry’s talks for more loans.

“The World Bank is coming on board, riding on the back of IMF receipts,” Owino said. “The AfDB is already on board.”

The discussions for more assistance, which came under the World Bank’s “Development Policy Operations” (DPO) with the government, were confirmed by a representative at the organization’s Kenya office.

“The amount of the current (loan) is yet to be determined. The amount will also depend on the implementation of the policy reforms agreed upon,” the spokesperson told Reuters, adding that past DPO loans averaged about $750 million.

In May, the World Bank approved the latest round of DPO loans, totalling $1.2 billion.

According to a statement made last month by Finance Minister John Mbadi, Kenya has set a foreign borrowing goal of 168 billion shillings for the fiscal year ending in June 2025.