Ground breaking for Mombasa port this week.

The Ground Breaking ceremony for the expansion of Mombasa  Port on Thursday November 22nd 2012, we can report.

The ceremony to be officiated 2012,by President Mwai Kibaki  will launch the second of the Port’s two-phase  upgrading project that began last year. The US$ 320 million  project will turn the Mombasa port into a Mega port.

The first phase of the development project included the dredging of the port to a depth of 15 Metres. It also widened the Likoni Channel from 250 Meters to more than 300 meters, while the turning basin was widened to 600 meters. It cost a US$62 million.

The second phase  involves construction of three berths with a straight-line quay of 900 meters, reclamation of 100 hectares of land, second container terminal with a capacity of one million TEUs, construction of a 5KM link road to Mombasa southern by-pass and a Railway line.  At the end of the two-year- US$200 million project, the Mombasa Port will have a capacity of 1.25 Million TEUs. 

The Mombasa port, which is the hub of shipping business in east and central Africa, has come under intense pressure to expand in the recent past due to robust economic growth in the region and also changes in vessel sizes. 

Robust economic growth both in Kenya and among her landlocked neighbours such as Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan generated increased demand for imports and exports through the port.
This growth in large vessels put pressure on major ports in Africa to invest in capacity expansion. The Mombasa Port was no exception. The expansion project that will be completed by the end of 2014 will ensure that Mombasa retains its positions as a major port in Africa. 
For detail please go to http://eaers.blogspot.com/2012/11/expansion-of-Mombasa-port-begins-in.html