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Uganda begins operations at Kisumu port with fuel imports

Published

2 months ago

September 13, 2024

Kenya’s efforts to revitalise the Kisumu port’s multimodal transport system to serve East and Central Africa are paying off, as Uganda has committed to using the facility for its oil and loose cargo beginning this month.

Nairobi, which spent millions of dollars renovating the ageing infrastructure and the cargo ship MV Uhuru, set the date for the port’s operationalisation after the corresponding facilities in Uganda. Nairobi anticipates handling more goods through the port this year.

With the potential to generate $60 billion in trade annually, the Kisumu port is a part of the East African Community (EAC) infrastructure development plan. However, at the moment, only approximately 10% of this traffic is coming into the three major EAC economies—Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.

Compared to 60,910 tonnes during the same period the previous year, Kenya’s principal port on Lake Victoria handled 125,503 tonnes.

Charles Kitur, the manager of Kisumu Port, credited the operation’s success to important renovations that allowed the building to accommodate bulk cargo.

The purchase of vital machinery including a reach stacker, grove mobile crane, forklifts, trailers, and marine boats has increased the inland port’s effectiveness after being ignored for almost thirty years.

“The upgraded facilities have improved the performance of the port and improved trade with the neighbouring countries like Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and those in the Great Lakes Region,” Mr Kitur told journalists.

In the six months leading up to June 2024, the lake port handled 125,503 metric tonnes of cargo, comprising 1,288 metric tonnes of commodities imported into the nation and 124,214 metric tonnes of exports, according to the most recent report from the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA).

The port saw a rise of 122,072.1 metric tonnes in comparison to the meagre 3,431 metric tonnes reported in the 2017 total cargo throughput report.

KPA forecasts indicate that the port’s overall cargo flow will exceed 200,000 metric tonnes by 2024. During this time, goods such as gas oil (26,186.9 tonnes), ceramic tiles (3,603.8 tonnes), steel billets (3,217.5 tonnes) and bagged fertiliser (1,367 tonnes) were supplied to other East African markets.

However, the border manager stated that Kenya only imported iron sheets.

Mr. Kitur added that more ships are stopping at the port, which has had a significant makeover since 2019, and that the renovated port has revived the marine transit corridor.

Related Topics:Featured Kenya Kisumu port Uganda

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IMF mission concludes 4th loan program assessment in Egypt

Published

2 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.

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

Published

3 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.