Mombasa cargo port. [Photo/courtesy]Kenya’s main port of Mombasa handled 11 per cent more cargo in the first quarter of this year, helped by increased efficiency after its handling capacity was expanded, the port’s management said on Wednesday.

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Last year, Kenya commissioned a second container terminal worth $300 million at the port, which is 900 metres long with three docking berths, and provides an additional cargo-handling capacity of 550,000 TEUs (20-foot-equivalent units) per year.

The port handled 7.2 million tonnes of cargo between January and March against 6.5 million in a similar period last year.

During the period, imports accounted for 6 million tonnes against 5.5 million handled in the same 2016 period, an increase of 10 per cent, the Kenya Ports Authority said in a report.

It handled 877,778 tonnes in exports, up four per cent on the 845,068 tonnes handled in the same period last year.The Indian Ocean port of Mombasa, the biggest in East Africa and the region’s trade gateway, is seen as a measure of economic activity in the region, handling imports of fuel and consumer goods as well as exports of tea and coffee for landlocked neighbours such as Uganda and South Sudan.

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