By Tajeu Shadrack Nkapapa
Kisumu port will this year break performance record as the lake port is set to surpass 200,000 metric tons, in total cargo throughput handled.
In the 2024 half year performance report, Kisumu Port recorded 125,503 metric tons in comparison to 60, 910 tons during the same period last year, representing a growth of 64,592 or 51.5 percent.
The Kenya Ports Authority has reported a notable increase in vessel calls to the port, with a total of 116 calls recorded by July of this year.
This figure reflects an increase of 63 calls compared to the corresponding period last year.
“Among the vessels currently docked at the port is MV Uhuru, which is loading 22 wagons of steel billets weighing 804.5 metric tons destined for Jinja, Uganda. Significantly, MV Uhuru II the first ship assembled in Kenya is expected to undertake her maiden voyage soon,” Kenya Ports Authority reported.
“MV Uhuru II has a capacity of 1,800 tons and is optimized to carry both petroleum and bulk dry cargo, with modern engines that have given it a cruising speed of 14 knots,” KPA wrote on X.
Kenya Ports said that with the ever-growing demand for petroleum products in the transit market, another fuel tanker MT Kabaka Mutebi III will join the fleet of vessels plying Kisumu, port Bell, and Jinja ports.
The continuous development of the Kisumu jetty, a project worth billions of shillings, will enhance the port’s ability to manage petroleum products.
Concurrently, the Kenya Pipeline Corporation is upgrading its infrastructure at the loading bay to facilitate simultaneous loading for both trucks and vessels.