Kenya on Tuesday announced major reforms to speed up cargo transit along the Northern Corridor, a vital trade route connecting the Port of Mombasa to landlocked nations in East and Central Africa.

Caroline Karugu, principal secretary for the State Department for East African Community Affairs, said reforms such as the removal of police roadblocks aim to reduce transit times for cargo between Mombasa and Malaba from the current 76-80 hours to 36-48 hours.

“We will also cut emergency response time under the Regional Electronic Cargo Tracking System to less than one hour,” Karugu said at a forum on the management of non-tariff barriers held on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya’s capital.

She said the Northern Corridor remains a vital lifeline for regional trade, handling more than 35.84 million metric tonnes of cargo annually and accounting for over 80 per cent of Kenya’s transit trade.

The Kenyan official noted that these inefficiencies are pushing cargo toward Tanzanian routes, causing Kenya to lose between 5 per cent and 8 per cent of high-value transit cargo annually.

She added that reducing transit delays by 50 per cent is estimated to save transporters between $288 and $360 per trip.

• A Tell Media / Xinhua report