- The port will close at 11pm on Monday, December 24, and resume activities at 7am on Wednesday December 26
- This will cause congestion at the port which now attracts world class vessels following its expansion
- The facility will close despite a luxury vessel with over 700 passengers expected to dock on Christmas Eve
Operations at the Mombasa port will completely shut on Tuesday, December 25, for the first time to allow workers proceed for Christmas holiday.
According to a notice issued by the port management, the facility will not be in operation from Monday, December 24, to Wednesday, December 26.
The move is likely to congest the port which has in the recent past continued to attract world class vessels after expanding its capacity.
“This is to notify all port users that during this Christmas season, the port will be closed for business from 2300 hours on December 24 and will open at 0700 hours on December 26,” read the notice in part.
“Thereafter the port will remain open to serve our customers for the rest of the holiday season. We remain dedicated to excellent and service delivery, “ it read on.
Players from both from transport and clearing and forwarding sector claim the one day closure will cost the country millions.
“I think it’s a positive move although they will lose revenue for that single day, but it is an improvement because previously they used to close for three days,” said Kenya International Freight and Warehousing Association(KIFWA) regional Chairman William Ojoyo.
The closure is on despite a Norwegian-owned luxury vessel with over 700 passengers which is set to dock at the port on Christmas Eve.
Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala in his Twitter account disclosed there had been growing interest in the port of Mombasa by cruise liners.
The docking of MS Nautica marks the start of Kenyan cruise tourism season amid growing concerns that construction of a KSh 450 million modern cruise terminal at the port has delayed.
