Kenya Railways Reduces Mombasa-Naivasha Freight Cost

Kenya Railways has cut down the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) cargo tariffs in order to promote the use of the Naivasha dry port.

The corporation announced a price reduction of up to Ksh9,877 on the freight charges between the port of Mombasa and the Naivasha ICD, effective February 16.

To move a 20-foot full range container from Mombasa to Nairobi now costs Ksh55,972, down from Ksh65,850 and Ksh24,693 in the down direction (Naivasha to Mombasa).

The conventional cargo is billed at $0.044 (Ksh 4.83)- per tonne-per kilometre with the rail distance being 533 kilometres between Mombasa and Naivasha.

According to Kenya Railways managing director Philip Mainga, revision is part of continued engagement with the business community and stakeholders on freight rates.

“Goods destined for the hinterland, Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan, Burundi, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo can now be delivered cost-effectively to and from Naivasha, thus reducing the cost of doing business and spurring regional economic growth through trade facilitation,” said Mainga.

He went ahead to state that the corporation has maintained a steady improvement on resources supply to support and sustain cargo evacuations from the Mombasa Port, working closely with Kenya Ports Authority, Kenya Revenue Authority, and Kenya Bureau of Standards.