Kenya--Transportation
Ports
Kenya's
extensive
transport
system accommodates
travel by
road, rail,
coastal
and inland
water and
air. Full
container-handling
facilities
are in operation
at Mombasa,
the chief
port, handling
a volume
of containers
that expanded
from 50,000
20-ft equivalent
units (TEU)
in 1982
to nearly
103,000
TEU in 1985.
An up-to-date
container-handling
operation
opened in
1983; and
the country's
first inland
clearance
depot for
containers
began operating
at Embakasi
near Nairobi
in 1984.
Mombasa
provides
access to
the Indian
Ocean for
several
land-locked
countries
and regions
in East
Africa,
including
Uganda,
eastern
Zaire, Burundi
and Rwanda.
Unfortunately,
Mombasa's
port efficiency
has declined
in recent
years due
to over-staffing
and poor
productivity;
it is also
experiencing
increased
competition
from the
modernized
facilities
in Dar es
Salaam,
Tanzania.
Airways
Kenya Airways
has operated
an independent
national
and international
air service
since the
break-up
of East
African
Airlines
in 1977.
International
airports
at Nairobi
and Mombasa
handled
over 2.52
million
commercial
passengers
and some
61,900 tons
of freight
in 1988.
Provisional
figures
for 1990
show that
the number
of passengers
and the
amount of
freight
has risen
to 2.65
million
and 66,400
tons respectively.
In addition
to these
locations,
airports
at Malindi,
Kisumu and
Embakasi
are capable
of handling
international
traffic.
Rural areas
are served
by hundreds
of airstrips.
In 1986
a private
air company
founded
African
Express
Airways
Kenya Limited
to transport
horticultural
products
to Europe
as well
as to work
routes not
already
covered
by the national
airline.
In December
1994, a
third international
airport
was underway
at Eldoret
in the Rift
Valley Province
under a
KSh3.7bn
($66 million)
contract.
The project
was not,
however,
popular
with donors,
who were
under-informed
about the
project's
course even
shortly
before the
official
announcement
of construction
plans. In
mid-1995,
the plan
was scaled
down because
of problems
securing
external
financing.
Despite
these problems,
the first
flight landed
in November
1996. Since
then, authorities
have failed
to secure
commitments
from airlines
for the
regular
use of the
airport.
The
national
carrier,
Kenya Airways
(KA), was
the first
African
airline
to be privatized.
A ceremony
held in
Nairobi
in January
1996 marked
the sale
of 26% of
the company's
shares to
KLM Royal
Dutch Airlines.
Airline
staff have
3% of equity,
while 34%
has been
sold through
the Nairobi
Stock Exchange
(NSE) to
Kenyan interests.
International
investors
have acquired
a 14% stake,
and the
government
retains
23%.
Railways
The Kenya
Railways
Corporation
operates
about 1,937
km of railway
tracks,
including
the principal
line from
Mombasa
through
Nairobi,
and on to
western
Kenya and
to points
in Tanzania
and Uganda.
The railroad
system is
meter-gauge
and virtually
all single-track.
A three-year
project
to improve
Kenya Railways
Corporation's
operation,
whose primary
aim was
to increase
the railway's
competitiveness
in the freight
market,
was launched
in 1987.
Roads
Kenya's
road system
consists
of 8,621
km of bituminous
roads, 26,000
km of gravel
roads and
28,406 km
of unpaved
roads. Most
roads, including
the main
arterials
in the cities,
are in poor
shape. Roads
linking
the coast
with the
interior
are in particularly
poor shape
due to overloading
and poor
maintenance
of vehicles.
A network
of bus and
minibus
services
covers the
whole country,
but service
to rural
areas remains
rudimentary.
A 590-km
road between
Lodwar and
Juba, in
Southern
Sudan, providing
the first
all-weather
road link
between
the two
countries,
has been
completed.
A rebuilding
project,
whose goal
is to improve
175 km of
Kenyan roads
along the
`northern
corridor,'
aims to
improve
access between
land-locked
regions
and the
port in
Mombasa.
[1]
Statistical
indicators:
(by 1000's
unless otherwise
indicated)
Year
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
RAIL:
Passenger
traffic
(no.):
2,507
2,426
1,911
1,624
2,379
RAIL:
Freight
(000 tons):
2,821
2,310
1,901
2,090
1,827
ROAD:
New motor
vehicles
(no.)
14,784
12,420
17,928
22,224
28,664
SHIPPING:
Freight
handled
at Mombasa
harbor 1000
tons
7,893
7,917
8,269
7,973
8,694
Source:
The Economist
Intelligence
Unit, 1998,
Country
Profile.
Kenya, The
Unit: London,
p. 44.
Railways:
total: 2,652
km
narrow gauge:
2,652 km
1.000-m
gauge
Highways:
total: 63,800
km
paved: 8,868
km
unpaved:
54,932 km
(1996 est.)
Waterways:
part of
the Lake
Victoria
system is
within the
boundaries
of Kenya
Pipelines:
petroleum
products
483 km
Ports
and harbors:
Kisumu,
Lamu, Mombasa
Merchant
marine:
total: 2
ships (1,000
GRT or over)
totaling
4,883 GRT/6,255
DWT
ships by
type: oil
tanker 1,
roll on/roll
off 1 (1997
est.)
Airports:
240 (1997
est.)
Airports–with
paved runways:
total: 29
over 3,047
m: 3
2,438 to
3,047 m:
1
1,524 to
2,437 m:
2
914 to 1,523
m: 22
under 914
m: 1 (1997
est.)
Airports–with
unpaved
runways:
total: 211
2,438 to
3,047 m:
1
1,524 to
2,437 m:
13
914 to 1,523
m: 114
under 914
m: 83 (1997
est.)
Source:
CIA World
Fact Book
[1]
1992. Africa
South of
the Sahara,
p. 446.