Mombasa cruise terminal project now put off

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Mombasa cruise terminal project now put off

The Kenyan government has shelved plans for a multimillion dollar project to
establish a fully-fledged cruise terminal at the Port of Mombasa after
failing to find a strategic partner to invest in the facility.

A senior official in the Ministry of Transport said the international
tenders advertised early this year for a strategic partner to team up with
the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) did not yield positive results. Transport
Permanent Secretary Gerishon Ikiara said most of the companies that had
earlier shown an interest in the project pulled out because they realized it
was not a viable undertaking. The Kenyan government was looking for an
investor who was ready to put about $30 million into a cruise ship terminal
to give the Kenya's tourism industry an edge over its competitors. "The
response was not good at all. The investors could not fathom such a huge
investment, saying did not guarantee returns because the terminal would just
act as a gate allowing cruise ships in to dock," said Mr. Ikiara. As a
result, he said, the government was forced to fall back on plans to improve
the existing terminal being used by cruise ships. "This new strategy,
estimated to cost about $3 million, will include refurbishing the landing
facilities and upgrading the road from the port to the town. "What we have
come to realize is that the cruise business will thrive in this country if
there is a good road network integrated with the landing facilities at the
port," Mr. Ikiara said. The announcement will however come as a blow to
major
players in the cruise business who have been calling on the government to
speed up the rehabilitation of the infrastructure and finalize the
establishment of a cruise terminal at the Mombasa port to boost its
performance. Stiff competition from neighboring countries and the threat of
insecurity in the Indian Ocean, they said, had made the cruise business more
delicate and could reduce the number of ships calling at Mombasa. The
managing director of Abercrombie and Kent, Auni Kanji, said the industry had
great potential but much more needed to be done to exploit the cruise
business, which he added was one of the fastest growing in the world.
Mombasa, he said, was the best port south of the Sahara for cruise business
after Cape Town and Durban, but still lacked facilities to attract more
cruise ships. The cruise business is most active between the months of
November and March but Mr. Kanji said this time the flow of ships had
dropped. "We have so far received four ships this season and we are
expecting four more between now and March." Last year, eight cruise ships
called at the port of Mombasa, but that figure is still far below what the
industry used to enjoy about six years ago, when about 18 ships were calling
at the port annually. "Cruise tourism is one of the fastest growing
industries in the world; what the government needs to do is to improve the
facilities without going for major investments because the port is the first
impression that the tourists get of the country," said Mr. Kanji. Apart from
inadequate facilities, he also attributes the slump in business to high
premiums that cruise ships pay for insurance when sailing in the Indian
Ocean because of the threat of attack by Somali pirates. "Plans for the
establishment of a cruise terminal at the port are taking longer than
expected," Mr. Kanji said. Mr. Kanji, whose firm is the ground handler for
cruise ships in Kenya said the filming of the Maasai Mara and its nomination
as one of the wonders of the world will spur growth in the number of
visitors coming into the country. "We have to be ready for the increase in
numbers and ensure that the facilities are in good shape as the country
moves into a tourism boom," he said. The government has announced plans to
invest in special cruise ship infrastructure that will enhance efficiency in
service delivery at the port of Mombasa. The Kenya Ports Authority
advertised the tenders seeking partners to construct and operate the
proposed cruise ship terminal, estimated to cost about Ksh2 billion ($27.3
million). Mr. Ikiara said KPA will now embark on a vigorous marketing
through
the KPA and Kenya Tourist Board websites targeting Indian Ocean countries to
attract more ships.

eTN TravelWireNews

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