Naivasha Dry Port View: Benefits to East & Central Africa

In this article, we will be discussing Naivasha Dry Port’s view as a benefit to East & Central Africa with a few steps and statistics to consider before you buy land for sale in Naivasha, Kenya.

The recent unveiling of the Naivasha Inland container depot has caught the eye of many investors and the price in and around the location has been skyrocketing. For those who may not understand the reason why prices are going up in the area, this article attempts to give reasons why this is the case. A dry port, which is sometimes called an inland port, is an inland intermodal terminal directly connected by road or rail to a seaport and operating as a center for the transshipment of sea cargo to inland destinations. In short, a dry inland port speeds up the flow of cargo between ships and major land transportation networks, creating a more central distribution point. Further, inland ports improve the movement of imports and exports, moving the time-consuming sorting and processing of containers inland, away from congested seaports. Kindly note, that the Mombasa Port activities are not being transferred to Naivasha since the region does not border the Indian Ocean.

Where Naivasha dry port provides storage in East & Central Africa

Just like the Embakasi dry port, the Naivasha facility will provide storage of cargo, especially those destined for Uganda, South Sudan, Northern Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. This will relieve the Mombasa Port of congestion, create more space for handling more cargo, and improve efficiency, which would attract more trade, including transshipment business at the Mombasa Port.

The Standard Gauge Railway once completed will handle more than 20% of the cargo coming through the Mombasa Port, as part of this will be taken to Naivasha for storage and help reduce congestion at the Mombasa Port. The Naivasha dry port is the fourth to be established in Kenya. Already, there is Eldoret Inland Port; Inland Container Depot in Embakasi (ICDE) which is linked by rail to Port Mombasa, and the Inland Container Depot in Kisumu which links Lake Victoria with Mombasa Port by rail.

The depots located in Nairobi, Kisumu and Eldoret have transit sheds and stacking grounds equipped with various types of cargo handling equipment like forklift trucks, front loaders, tractors, trailers, and reach stackers and cranes. They were established to realize maximum benefits of containerization of cargo, which is the current trend, and to avoid over-investment in port facilities and storage capacity. The Inland Container depots serve as “Dry Ports” linked directly to Mombasa Container Terminal. 

NAIVASHA DRY PORT IS THE NEXT BIG THING – Watch on YouTube

Statistics from Kenya Ports Authority

Statistics from the Kenya Ports Authority at the end of 2021 show that 76.7% of all transit cargo through Mombasa is destined for Uganda, 10.6% for South Sudan, and 5.7% for DR Congo. This shows the need for Mombasa Port to increase its efficiency and cargo handling turnaround time in order to attract other transport corridors in Africa that do not traditionally use the facility.

It is prudent that Mombasa port adopts a greater strategic approach that would give it an edge over its peers. A dry port in Naivasha is the key to increasing productivity at Mombasa Port because larger container ships would dock without fear of having to pay penalties for late loading or discharging of the shipping vessel due to port inefficiency. Traffic congestion, road accidents, and road maintenance costs on both our national trunk roads and highways would decrease drastically because one train has the capacity to substitute 35 trucks.

It is also imperative to note that the Nakuru County government plans to establish an industrial park within the geothermal-rich area of Olkaria where the dry port will be set up. This is a noble initiative that will create jobs. The Opposition has a right to challenge the Government’s development record, but it should do so basing its arguments on watertight evidence.

Conclusion: Where to buy land in Naivasha, Kenya

Property near the Naivasha Dry Port would translate to strategic investment destinations for both commercial and residential purposes. We have what you are looking for here at the Naivasha Inland Port. 50 by 100 plots located 100 meters from the Naivasha Inland container depot and 300 meters from the Narok-Mai Mahiu road. For more information, contact AMG Realtors at +254 748 229 941. You can visit our office are located at AMG Centre, off Thika Superhighway, exit 7 opposite Garden City, and are open from 7 am to 5 pm.