-This is a Presidential directive to expedite the development of the first fishing port in the country to support the Blue Economy as Kenya Ports Authority also joined the team to engage the community and present a progress report on the project;
-While the National Assembly Committee on Transport and Infrastructure was at the Kenya Ports Authority Headquarters for an engagement session with the KPA management.
MAARUFU MOHAMED-GOLFNEWSLINKS;
An intergovernmental team chaired by the County Commissioner of Kwale Michael Mwangi met to track the progress of the implementation of the Shimoni fish port project in Kwale County.
With a Presidential directive to expedite the development of the first fishing port in the Country to support the Blue Economy, Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) joined the inter-governmental team, to engage the Community and present a progress report on the project.
The execution strategy is holistic, pegged on an inter-governmental collaboration of state agencies and parastatals as well as the County Government of Kwale to ensure all the requisite facilities and services including water, power, efficient transport systems like roads are in place for seamless service delivery.
Currently, the construction of the Shimoni port, which has an anticipated annual throughput of 50,000 metric tons is at 38 percent completion and is projected to be ready for use by October 2024.
The development of the facility encompasses a new modern jetty measuring 75 metres by 30 with a causeway of 135 meters long and 7metres wide.
This jetty will be utilized solely for the commercial fishing activity with the existing jetty reserved for visitor’s access to Wasini and other Islands.
The facility will also include a warehouse accommodating a fish processing plant, a fish market, cold storage and ice making plant.
One of the biggest challenges the fishermen and the industry has faced has been the lack of proper infrastructure that can support large scale fishing, which at times has contributed to wastage and limitation to small scale fishing.
This facility will now enhance value addition, mainly immediate processing for exports market and local consumption among others.
Other facilities include a water storage tank, a goods warehouse to serve the general public, fire station, bio digester and a wastewater management plant.
Meanwhile, The National Assembly Committee on Transport and Infrastructure was at the Kenya Ports Authority Headquarters in Mombasa County for an engagement session with the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) Management.
They were received by the KPA Managing Director Captain William Ruto and his team of General Managers.
The Committee that directly oversights KPA spent time at the Port of Mombasa for in-depth discussions on operations and management of key port facilities.
The Chair of the committee-Hon. George Kariuki underscored the importance of an efficient transport system in supporting regional growth and development, saying Kenya’s ports play a central role particularly in International trade and logistics supply chains.
Among the development initiatives that KPA is implementing to improve the competitiveness of port facilities is the highly anticipated Dongo Kundu Special Economic Zones project in Mombasa that will provide an atmosphere for product value addition activities which will boost the economy and create job opportunities.
This ESZ will comprise Industrial parks, free trade zones, a free port and export processing zones.
Other initiatives include capacity expansion projects including the new Kipevu Oil Terminal, the completion of berth 22 at the second container terminal, equipment acquisition and marketing initiatives to increase the transit market share among others.
ENDS;
