Kisumu port is positioned in Kisumu Central Constituency, in Kisumu Town, in Kisumu County, in Kenya. It is situated on the shores of Lake Victoria, the second largest freshwater lake in the world. The catchment area of Lake Victoria, which encompasses parts of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi, has a population of around 35 million and a GDP of some USD 30 billion, i.e. about 40% of the total EAC economy. Approximately 0.5 million people live in Kisumu town and 10 million in the Kisumu region, accounting for around 27% of Kenya’s population. As such Kisumu is the third largest city in Kenya and a commercial centre with diverse and partly unexploited resources in agriculture, commercial, industrial, tourism and transport services.
The Port of Kisumu is one of the ports on Lake Victoria that offer organised shipping services on the Lake. The other ports are: Port Bell and Jinja in Uganda; and Mwanza, Bukoba, and Musoma in Tanzania. Out of these ports, Kisumu, Mwanza and Port Bell are the largest, in terms of throughput.
History
Kisumu Port, established in 1901, has been a critical link in an integrated East African rail/water transportation system with particular focus on freight transport. Historically, marine transport on the lake, together with the rail network, played a key part on the transportation of cargo and passengers to and from the land-locked countries. Inland shipping on Lake Victoria formed an important component of an intermodal supply chain along the Central and Northern Corridor linking to Mombasa and Dar es Salaam ports. By the mid-20th Century, the East African Railways and Harbours Corporation (EARHC) operated regular sailings from Kisumu to Port Bell in Uganda and Mwanza in Tanzania, using rail ferries that carried rail wagons loaded directly from rail tracks in the three ports. Smaller ports are Jinja (Uganda), Musoma, Bukoba and Kemondo Bay (Tanzania).Typical journey times were 13 hours between Port Bell in Uganda and Kisumu in Kenya, and 19 hours between Port Bell and Mwanza in Tanzania.
It occupies 17.5 hectares of land with a stacking area designed to accommodate a throughput of 15,000 TEUs per annum. Similarly, taking Kisumu’s 2014 import figure of 21,943 tons as a starting point, and taking into account all developments and economic growth, Kisumu’s local cargo imports are estimated to increase to approximately 130,000 tons by 2025, and further to 180,000 tons by 2035.
Consequently, under this scenario, total estimated local cargo demand at Kisumu Port increases to approximately 290,000 tons by 2025, and further to approximately 410,000 tons by 2035. The development of the estimated local cargo demand at Kisumu Port is presented in Figure 1-11. It can be noted that Kisumu local cargo demand is estimated to see strong growth during initial years following the port rehabilitation works and the improvement of safety and reliability of the lake transport system. After this strong growth, demand growth is estimated to be in line with economic growth.
Current capacity of Kisumu port
Currently, the Port of Kisumu operates only at a fraction of its capacity and former throughput. Due to the deterioration of the rail connection from Mombasa to Kisumu, transit cargo volumes have decreased steeply over the last decades. The port still handles some of the local cargo and specific transit cargo. However, all cargo volumes have dwindled, due to a lack of critical mass and the reliability of the transport system. Lake ports have RoRo ramps and all break bulk is handled manually.
Port facilities are grouped in a wide area of land some 6ha in size. This area includes:
• a 262m quay,
• a rail-wagon ferry pier, including 90 meters of berthing space alongside the pier, on reclaimed land, almost perpendicular to the main quay,
• a warehouse measuring 50m by 16m on the main quay,
• a 3,000m2 paved storage area directly behind the warehouse, and
• offices for the harbour master, customs, and police department.
Kisumu Port PPP Project – Feasibility Report Page 1-18 February 2016
Role of the Port
One of the starting questions regarding Kisumu port is: “what is the role for Kisumu port?” as Kisumu’s port business is currently at an extremely low level. A detailed analysis and discussion of the identified port roles to consist of the following:
• Transit port, focusing on transit cargo from Mombasa to the EAC region
• Local cargo port, focusing on export of regional products and import of local products from Uganda and Tanzania
• Passenger ferry port, focusing on passenger transport between EAC destinations around lake Victoria
• Port related services, focusing on the Kisumu port shipyard
• Special Economic Zone (SEZ) / logistics hub
It is concluded that, from a demand and revenue potential perspective, the port should focus on the cargo handling. It could become an important hub for East African Community (EAC) trade, as it is conveniently situated for cargo destined for certain regions of Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi.
Current Situation
Currently, the port of Kisumu exports:
• edible oil;
• bar soaps;
• exercise books;
• shoe shine;
• sweets and other confectionaries;
• sleeper shoes;
• netting material;
• blankets; and
• fertilizer.
The port’s imports mainly comprise:
• sugar;
• cotton seed cake; and
• bottled water and sodas
Taking Kisumu’s 2014 export figure of 28,034 tons as a starting point, and taking into account all developments and economic growth, Kisumu’s local cargo exports are estimated to increase to approximately 160,000 tons by 2025, and further to 230,000 tons by 2035.
Similarly, taking Kisumu’s 2014 import figure of 21,943 tons as a starting point, and taking into account all developments and economic growth, Kisumu’s local cargo imports are estimated to increase to approximately 130,000 tons by 2025, and further to 180,000 tons by 2035. Consequently, under this scenario, total estimated local cargo demand at Kisumu Port increases to approximately 290,000 tons by 2025, and further to approximately 410,000 tons by 2035.
It can be noted that Kisumu local cargo demand is estimated to see strong growth during initial years following the port rehabilitation works and the improvement of safety and reliability of the lake transport system. After this strong growth, demand growth is expected to be in line with economic growth.