Ports & Terminals - Small Ports
Small Ports
Kenya Ports Authority through the Port’s 2018-2050 Masterplan intends to
facilitate development of small ports taking due cognizance of the long-term
development framework as outlined under Vision 2030.
The KPA is responsible for the small coastal ports such as Funzi, Shimoni and
Vanga located in the south coast, Mtwapa, Kilifi, Malindi, Lamu and Kiunga further
north. KPA is also developing feeder ports and piers in Nyanza along Lake Victoria.
Some of the facilities the Authority is rehabilitating include the Homabay pier currently
under construction, Sori Karungu, Mfangano, Sio, Muhuru Bay, Kendu Bay and Luanda K’Otieno
which will be developed in phases.
Apart from these ports, an assessment has been made regarding potential other port sites along
the coast, namely Takaungu and Ngomeni which do not fall under the KPA Act yet.
Kilifi Port
It has a beautiful bay which is currently already used for water sports with hotel anchorage. The jetty also handles fish at approximately 260MT per year, with marina facilities for tourists. The area is naturally sheltered with a bridge of 17m vertical clearance. This site is ideally positioned to develop as a high-end marina. KPA plans to build a jetty for fish landing, a Luxury Marina building, a Harbor Master office, and 200 mooring points for various types of vessels.
Malindi Port
Malindi Port is situated in Malindi town 120km north of Mombasa. The Port consists
of a pier used as a landing site in the unsheltered sea mainly to serve local fish industry.
However, because of accretion, the breaking zone has shifted to the pier’s fish landing site.
KPA plans to develop the pier to enable proper fish and tourists landing port, considering that Malindi is a tourist city.
There is a jetty for fish landing on the beach handling approximately 1,250MT per year and 8000 tourist boat moves. KPA
intends to acquire 2,500 sqm of land for port development. This includes construction of offices, fish cold store and ice
making facilities, boat repair facilities fuel shop and tourist offices. There will also be a floating pontoon.
Ngomeni Port
Ngomeni port, a natural harbour at the Centre of the coastline, is envisaged to be developed as the third large port in
the country after the year 2030. KPA plans to add Ngomeni as a port in the KPA Act and acquire the land around this natural
harbour to secure for future development. This includes the construction of a proper jetty for fish handling and coastal trade,
with potential to develop into a major port and possibly a Special Economic Zones.
Currently, the Port handles about 550MT of fish, which is about 1,500kg per day. It also handles about 1,500 MT of coastal trade
merchandise comprising various goods. Ngomeni Port has a natural sheltered harbor with good nautical access, 20 km North of Malindi.
There is extensive road connectivity to the port through the Mombasa Malindi highway.
Mtwapa Port
Mtwapa port, a landing site for smaller yachts, is already present in the bay supporting tourism activities. KPA plans to develop an artisanal fishing port for small scale fish landing facilities and marina berths.
Kiunga Port
Kiunga port KPA plans to acquire 20acres of land to develop the jetty into a proper fishing port to serve the local fishing sector.
KPA will also dredge the channel and build a port that has good sea access that can serve gillnetters, a storage facility for fish
and export of small volume of cotton and coconut exports as well as putting up administration buildings.
Currently a Jetty at Kiunga Village is used as a landing site although it has poor access to the sea.
The port handles about 2,500MT of fish per year, with coastal trade amounting to 1000MT of mainly cotton and coconut.