• The move seeks to decongest the Port of Mombasa and improve efficiency at the facility
• This means owners of the affected cargo and their clearing agents will clear and pick their goods in Naivasha
Kenya Revenue Authority has commenced movement of transit cargo from the Port of Mombasa to the newly established Naivasha Inland Container Depot.
The move seeks to decongest the Port of Mombasa and improve efficiency at the facility, KRA said in a statement on Tuesday.
“The facility is anticipated to boost storage of cargo mainly those destined for the EAC Partner States: Uganda, South Sudan, Northern Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and Democratic Republic of Congo,” KRA said.
This means owners of the affected cargo and their clearing agents will clear and pick their goods at the new facility.
“The list of cargo that has been moved from the Port of Mombasa to the Naivasha ICD can be accessed on KRA’s website and will progressively be updated on a daily basis,” the statement added.
The KRA and Customs offices at the Naivasha ICD are now operational and the depot has the capacity to hold 700 trucks at any given time, the Tax agency said.
On May 7, Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia led a government delegation at the facility to release the first 200 TUEs (twenty-foot equivalent unit) cargo that was on transit to Uganda.
During the event, the CS emphasized on the government commitment in facilitating regional trade. He also noted that the completion of the station would help in containing the spread of Covid-19 as track drivers will not have to go for the cargo in Nairobi or Mombasa.
This follows the launch of the SGR freight services from Syokimau to Suswa by President Uhuru Kenyatta in December last year.
“The Naivasha transhipment station has halved the tracking journey for businesses in Western Kenya and other East African Community countries,” KRA added.
The facility has a One Stop Centre (OSC) model where all key government agencies offer their services to clients. Regional revenue authorities including Uganda Revenue Authority, Rwanda Revenue Authority, Tanzania Revenue Authority and Burundi Revenue Authority are also housed at the OSC.
