The latest is Taiwan's Evergreen Line which has renewed attention on the commercial opportunities emerging along the East African coast. KPA General Manager Cargo Operations Sudi Mwasinago with Evergreen President K. H. Wu, Evergreen's agent-Gulf Badr chairman Bahaa Badr and other officials during a business tour of the Port of Mombasa/ KPA KENYA is expanding its port infrastructure and eliminating trade bottlenecks as global shipping lines increase interest in the country's maritime network.
This comes at a time when there is growing competition from Tanzania for regional cargo. The Kenya Ports Authority is advancing expansion projects at the Port of Mombasa to accommodate larger vessels and rising cargo volumes. The latest global shipping lines, to show interest in Kenya is Taiwan's Evergreen Line which has renewed attention on the commercial opportunities emerging along the East African coast.
The world's seventh-largest container shipping line is investing in a new generation of vessels, including ultra-large ships capable of carrying 24,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), with Mombasa among its major destinations in the Indian Ocean. Last week, French shipping giant CMA CGM took the cargo battle inland with a dedicated rail freight service linking Kilindini harbour to Nairobi’s Embakasi Inland Container Depot (ICD) Evergreen President K.H.
Wu, accompanied by a company delegation and Bahaa Badr, chairman of Gulf Badr, the shipping line's agent, visited Mombasa this week for discussions on port infrastructure, operational capacity and the outlook for maritime trade. The shipping line has ordered 23 feeder and medium-sized container ships and 11 liquefied natural gas (LNG) dual-fuel mega vessels, reflecting its strategy to expand regional cargo distribution and long-haul shipping.
Representing KPA chief executive William Ruto, General Manager Cargo Operations Sudi Mwasinago outlined the authority's expansion programme, including the imminent completion of Berth 19B. The facility is expected to add approximately 300,000 TEUs (containers) to Mombasa's annual container handling capacity, while planned developments at Berths 23 and 24 will further increase the port's ability to handle growing cargo volumes.