Kenya Eyes Inland Cargo Logistics Hub to Serve Nearby States

 Kenya aims to build a cargo logistics hub near the border with Uganda to receive and clear goods through customs that arrive by air, rail or road, easing pressure on the port of Mombasa and Nairobi airport, a senior regional official said.

The so-called "dry port" would be built near Malaba, along the route of a new rail line being built to provide a faster link for freight coming from the coast.

Kenya has been working with neighbours such as Uganda and Rwanda to speed up transport links from Mombasa, which is the region's main trade gateway and its busiest port.

The project, which could cost an estimated 100 billion shillings ($1 billion), was presented to some international investors last month, said Greg Odeke, infrastructure minister for Busia County, where Malaba is located.

He told Reuters Busia, which has new powers under a national strategy of giving regions a bigger say, would seek expressions of interest from investors in July or August.

Under the plan, goods arriving by sea and bound for nearby states could be sent directly inland and then go through customs clearance at Malaba. "This will be a strategic international business hub for cargo handling and associated business," Odeke said.

More than 80 percent of cargo moving from Mombasa to nearby states already passes through the Malaba area, he said on the sidelines of a conference in the western city of Kisumu.

"Goods headed to central Africa shouldn't have to stop in Mombasa," he said.

By Edith Honan