Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Sheriff Nassir has approved the re-purposing of the proposed Marshalling Yard to a Special Economic Zone and dry port in a move that will see a reduction in the delays traders face.
In an official Cabinet dispatch dated Wednesday, November 20, the Governor revealed the Marshalling Yard will provide a secure and accessible area for car importation traders.
A marshaling yard is a temporary, in-transit storage area for containers, trucks, and automobiles. It expedites discharge operations by facilitating rapid and continuous movement of cargo and containers to or from the port.
According to Abdulswamad, the move will also see the improvement and revival of the county's socio-economic sector.
"In furtherance of the administration's commitment to the socio-economic revival of Mombasa, the meeting considered and approved the re-purposing of the proposed Marshalling Yard to a Mombasa County Special Economic Zone and dry port to cater to the growing demand of providing a designated orderly, secure, and accessible area for trade in imported automobiles and related accessories," read the statement by the governor in part.
Abdulswamad revealed that the move aligns with the integrated urban strategic development plan and the county's investment capital plan approved by the County Assembly of Mombasa.
The move is expected to reduce the clearance time of vehicles arriving at the port of Mombasa as well as motor vehicle accessories and goods in transit to other destinations.
The Governor revealed that this would create more order and help make the Mombasa port more efficient.
In Miritini, the county is constructing a marshaling yard on a 100-acre piece of land about 20 kilometers away from the port of Mombasa.
The Mombasa Port handles 4,000 to 5,000 containers daily, with an estimated 2,000 trucks picking up and dropping containers a day.
This port marshall yard will add to the effort of decongesting ports in the country. The Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) is also in the process of building another marshaling yard in Malaba on the Kenya-Uganda border.
Apart from the trade steps the county has made, the governor also revealed the county's commitment to combat substance use among its youth
