View source for Mombasa Multi-Commodity Common-User Facility

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| image = Port of Mombasa bulk carrier in Kilindini Harbour.jpg
| alt = A geared bulk carrier at anchor in Kilindini Harbour, Mombasa, with port buildings and storage structures on the far shore under a blue sky
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{{Infobox project
| name = Multi-Commodity Common-User Facility (agrilogistics), Shimanzi and Miritini
| status = proposed
| theme = Ports & Logistics
| counties = Mombasa
| lead_organisation = Economic Development and Investment Council for Greater Mombasa
| partners = None named
| budget =
| funding_source = Private investment sought; no structure published
| start_year =
| end_year =
| website = https://edicpwani.ke/#OurPriorities
}}

The '''Mombasa Multi-Commodity Common-User Facility''' is a project within the [[Ports & Logistics]] theme. It is a proposal by the [[Economic Development and Investment Council for Greater Mombasa]] (EDIC) for a shared handling and storage platform at Shimanzi or Miritini in [[Mombasa County]], open to several users and commodities such as grain, cold-chain produce and fertiliser, to cut logistics costs and speed up regional trade through the port. It is at the earliest stage: EDIC says it will write the concept note, and no cost, site, operator or timetable has been published. The page sets out the existing bulk-handling arrangements at the port that any such facility would join.

== What it is ==
EDIC lists the facility among its eight priority projects as "a shared, multi-commodity handling and storage platform (e.g., grains, cold-chain, fertiliser) to cut logistics costs and improve throughput for regional trade". It says it "will develop the concept note, engage operators and off-takers, and outline delivery and revenue models to reach investor readiness".<ref name="edic-home">[https://edicpwani.ke/#OurPriorities Our Priorities], Economic Development and Investment Council for Greater Mombasa, read 15 October 2026.</ref> Unlike some other EDIC priorities, it has no project page of its own, and EDIC gives no capacity, cost, land parcel or partners.

=== Existing bulk handling at the port ===
Mombasa already has one mechanised terminal for imported grain and fertiliser, at Shimanzi. It was built by Grain Bulk Handlers Ltd with financing from the International Finance Corporation in 1997 as "the first modern bulk handling and storage facility in Mombasa for imported grains and fertilizers".<ref>[https://disclosures.ifc.org/project-detail/SPI/8274/grain-bulk-handlers-ltd-gbhl Grain Bulk Handlers Ltd (GBHL): Summary of Proposed Investment], International Finance Corporation, 12 September 1997.</ref> The company, renamed Bulkstream in 2024, is the sole operator of mechanised bulk grain handling at the port; it handles grain, fertiliser, edible oil and other bulk cargo and has about 220,000 tonnes of silo storage.<ref name="bd-bulk">[https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/bd/corporate/companies/sa-fund-manager-controlling-stake-mombasa-tycoon-grain-firm-4784846 SA fund manager eyes controlling stake in Mombasa port firm], Marion Sitawa, Business Daily, 3 October 2024.</ref> Bulkstream says it also moves grain by the standard gauge railway to its own inland terminal at Embakasi in Nairobi.<ref name="bulkstream">[https://www.bulkstream.com/ports-and-terminals/ Ports and Terminals], Bulkstream, read 15 October 2026.</ref>

A common-user facility would therefore either compete with or complement this terminal. The Kenya Ports Authority's performance contract for 2025/26 lists new berths at Dongo Kundu and Berth 19, but no grain or multi-commodity terminal.<ref name="kpa-pc">[[:File:KPA Performance Contract 2025-2026.pdf|Performance Contract between the Government of Kenya and the Board of Directors of the Kenya Ports Authority, 2025/26]], Kenya Ports Authority, September 2025, PDF pages 6 and 12.</ref>

== Rationale ==
EDIC's case is qualitative. The context supports a capacity argument. Freight through the Port of Mombasa rose from 34.6 million tonnes in 2021 to 45.5 million tonnes in 2025.<ref name="knbs">[[:File:KNBS Kenya Facts and Figures 2026.pdf|Kenya Facts and Figures 2026]], Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, April 2026, printed page 80 (Table 46).</ref> The Northern Corridor Transport Observatory reports that dry bulk imports at Mombasa rose 29.7 per cent in 2025 to 8.99 million tonnes, about a quarter of all imports, and that ships waited an average of 4.7 days to berth against a target of 0.3 days.<ref name="ncttca">[https://www.ttcanc.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/EN-21-TOP-Report.pdf 21st Edition Northern Corridor Transport Observatory Report 2025], Northern Corridor Transit and Transport Coordination Authority, August 2026, executive summary and printed page 26 (Table 13).</ref> Kenya imported KSh 58.5 billion of chemical fertiliser and KSh 55.1 billion of rice in 2025.<ref>[[:File:KNBS Kenya Facts and Figures 2026.pdf|Kenya Facts and Figures 2026]], Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, April 2026, printed page 39 (Table 25).</ref> No published data shows which commodities face a storage or handling shortfall, so the case for a new facility, as against expansion of the existing one, has yet to be made.

== Status and timeline ==
The facility is at concept stage, with no concept note yet published.<ref name="edic-home" /> The wider history is a long dispute over competition in grain handling. In 2008 the Kenya Ports Authority's board resolved to liberalise grain handling at the port to end the monopoly, but the tender for a second handler was halted, according to the authority's evidence to Parliament in 2024.<ref name="milling2024">[https://millingmea.com/kenya-ports-authority-under-scrutiny-over-alleged-monopoly-in-grain-handling/ Kenya Ports Authority under scrutiny over alleged monopoly in grain handling], Milling Middle East and Africa, 21 May 2024.</ref> The authority later licensed Portside Freight Terminals to build a second grain facility worth about KSh 5.8 billion, including a "common user island berth", without open tendering. The High Court blocked the licence in 2021, the Court of Appeal reversed that in 2024, and the Supreme Court nullified it in 2025, finding the authority had not justified bypassing competitive procurement.<ref name="nation-sc">[https://beta.nation.co.ke/kenya/news/supreme-court-nullifies-joho-family-s-sh5-8bn-grain-facility-deal-at-mombasa-port--5101072 Supreme Court nullifies Joho family's Sh5.8bn grain facility deal at Mombasa port], Daily Nation, 30 June 2025.</ref> No re-tender has been reported.

=== How the project is being procured ===
No Terms of Reference, request for proposals or PPP listing exists for this facility. EDIC says it will outline delivery and revenue models and engage operators and off-takers.<ref name="edic-home" /> The Supreme Court's ruling on the Portside licence means any facility on port land would need open, competitive procurement.<ref name="nation-sc" />

== Who is involved ==
EDIC is a multi-stakeholder council for Greater Mombasa chaired by Dr Kevit Desai.<ref name="edic-home" /> The Kenya Ports Authority controls port land and berths.<ref name="kpa-pc" /> Bulkstream operates the existing grain and fertiliser terminal at Shimanzi.<ref name="bd-bulk" /> The National Cereals and Produce Board receives government fertiliser imports through Mombasa.<ref>[https://beta.nation.co.ke/kenya/counties/mombasa/long-awaited-fertiliser-docks-in-mombasa-ncpb-ramps-up-weekend-distribution--5408830 Long-awaited fertiliser docks in Mombasa, NCPB ramps up weekend distribution], Kevin Mutai, Daily Nation, 31 March 2026.</ref> No operator or investor has been named.

* [https://edicpwani.ke/ Economic Development and Investment Council for Greater Mombasa]
* [[Kenya Ports Authority]]

== Concerns and counterpoints ==
No one has yet commented in public on the EDIC proposal. The points below come from the record of grain handling and cargo policy at Mombasa, as general context.

=== Competition and procurement ===
Parliament's Committee on Implementation questioned the Kenya Ports Authority in 2024 over the single grain handler's position; the authority's leaders replied that the board had resolved to liberalise the service and that tendering had paused for consultation.<ref name="milling2024" /> The one recent attempt to add a competitor was itself challenged by Senator Okiya Omtatah and the Dock Workers Union and struck down by the Supreme Court; the authority had argued that diversifying grain handling protected food security.<ref name="nation-sc" /> A new common-user facility would face the same questions about how its operator is chosen and how it shares port access. In 2024 Portside also sued the authority and Bulkstream over rail sidings at the port that it said served Bulkstream alone.<ref>[https://nation.africa/kenya/news/joho-family-firm-sues-kpa-grain-handler-over-alleged-mombasa-port-interference-4760944 Joho family firm sues KPA, grain handler over alleged Mombasa port interference], Philip Muyanga, Daily Nation, 7 December 2024.</ref>

=== Port efficiency ===
The Northern Corridor Observatory attributes rising container dwell times, an average of 106.7 hours in 2025 against a 48-hour target, and longer vessel waiting times to congestion, coordination gaps and extended free storage.<ref name="ncttca" /> These are mostly container measures. A new storage platform would help only if the bottleneck is storage rather than berths, clearance or inland transport, which the published data does not settle.

=== Mombasa's logistics economy ===
Cargo policy is politically sensitive in Mombasa. After an earlier requirement that Nairobi-bound imports move by rail and clear inland, President William Ruto ordered clearance returned to the port, and on 26 September 2022 the Kenya Ports Authority told shipping lines that the place of clearance and mode of transport would be the importer's choice.<ref>[https://www.kenyans.co.ke/news/79946-rutos-order-sgr-takes-effect-kpa-issues-guidelines Ruto's Order on SGR Takes Effect, KPA Issues Guidelines], Kenyans.co.ke, September 2022.</ref> A facility at Miritini near the railway, rather than at Shimanzi, would sit on the same fault line between rail and road.

== Sources ==
* [[:File:KPA Performance Contract 2025-2026.pdf|Kenya Ports Authority Performance Contract 2025/26]], Kenya Ports Authority.
* [[:File:KNBS Kenya Facts and Figures 2026.pdf|Kenya Facts and Figures 2026]], Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.
* [https://www.ttcanc.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/EN-21-TOP-Report.pdf 21st Northern Corridor Transport Observatory Report 2025], NCTTCA.
* [https://edicpwani.ke/#OurPriorities Our Priorities], EDIC.

== References ==
<references />