Cabinet Secretary for Roads and Transport, Kipchumba Murkomen, presided over the installation of the second set of Ship-to-Shore Gantry cranes (STS) at Berth Number 16 within Mombasa port.
Renowned for their impressive hoisting speed of 80 meters per minute and a lifting capacity of 65 tonnes, the state-of-the-art cranes are expected to enhance the operational capacity of the port. The cranes are also capable of accommodating 21 containers side by side.
“Additionally, the trolley speed of these modern giants clocks in at an impressive 240 meters per minute, compared to the previous 180 meters per minute. The equipment has a capacity of handling bigger vessels of 21 containers across compared to the previous which handled only 18 across,” said the CS.
CS Murkomen stressed the importance of these investments, pointing out the remarkable expansion in cargo handling and container traffic at the Port of Mombasa during the initial half of 2023.
“In the first half of 2023, cargo handling increased from 17.48 million tons in 2022 to an impressive 18.06 million tons this year, marking a robust 3.3 per cent rise. Container traffic mirrored this trend, surging from 722,063 TEUs to 783,125 TEUs, indicating an impressive 8.5 per cent increase,” said the CS.
The quartet of cranes arrived in the country a week ago, with a price tag of Sh5.8 billion.
“The acceleration of speed is a reflection of our pursuit of excellence, of our unwavering commitment to minimizing downtime, and of our dedication to serving the needs of global trade with precision. This will make the Port of Mombasa even more competitive in the region,” Murkomen noted.
