The government and stakeholders who use the Kenya Ports Authority have come up with measures to cut movement of transit cargo from Mombasa to Malaba to five days down form 18 days.

This follows President Uhuru Kenyatta's directive two weeks ago to have the movement of cargo from the port streamlined to improve efficiency.

A forum on efficient trade facilitation at the port and along the northern corridor held at the Bandari College in Mombasa chaired by the Transport Cabinet Secretary Michael Kamau came up with several recommendations.

The Commissioner of Customs Services Beatrice Memo, issue directives on handling of transit goods to decongest the port.

Henceforth all transit and export containers will be packed and verified at container freight services to avoid backlog of cargo at the port.

The commissioner said all government agencies will be required to supervise the process before containers are escorted to the port for shipment.

The move is expected to reduce time wasted to scan containers at the port. She said scanning at the port yard will only be done on special cases and Containers will only be transported to the port when vessels are ready for loading.

The new rule will also see CFSs allowed to handle bulk cargo such as wheat, rice and sugar.

Memo said freight services will also be required to work 24 hour to clear cargo backlogs.

Transshipment of cargo within the port will also not require bond. However, goods will only be allowed a period of 21 days for the process or be destroyed.

“We are also developing a new single window system apart from the samba system for cargo clearance. We want to decongest the port in one month,” said Memo.

Kenya National Highway Authority director general Meshack Kidenda said construction of high speed weigh in motion and multi deck scales will be in place in two months.

Kidenda said the new weighbridge will allow fast weighing of transit vehicles along Mombasa-Nairobi-Malaba and the entire routes joining the northern corridor.

“Cargo will only be weighed at the first point and given a green card. We want to do away with the weighing process at every weighbridge to allow free flow of goods,” said Kidenda.

Inspectoral of police David Kimaiyo said the national police service will fight corruption along the highway and decongest weighbridges.

Kimaiyo said highway road blocks will also be removed and high way patrols enhanced to protect transit cargo from robberies and being diverted.