Uganda gets biggest dry port in Namanve Industrial Park

Sep 09, 2021

Shipping companies use ICDs to store and move containers before and after transporting them to the seaport. 

Containers being stacked at the newly-opened ICD in Namanve Industrial Park. Photos by Abou Kisige

Charles Etukuri
Senior Writer @New Vision

Depot (ICD) at the Namanve Industrial Park solve the heavy trailer congestion and road destruction at Nakawa, as well as aid faster goods clearance?

Charles Etukuri looks at the development Sitting on 11 acres at the Namanve Industrial Park, the LEXUS ICD, bond no. W0454 has become Uganda’s biggest Internal Container Depot (ICD).

The privately owned facility has offices for the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) and Uganda National Bureau of Standards Industrialists (UNBS), which, according to URA, should facilitate faster trade processing.

The presence of an established URA office there also means that the facility is a fully-fledged ICD.

According to Stella Agwate, the URA manager at the facility, many of the facilities the country has are just bonded warehouses where the URA sends officials to clear the goods.

She explained that the physical presence of URA offices in the premises confirms its status as ICD.

An ICD is a container storage facility situated away from any major port.

Shipping companies use ICDs to store and move containers before and after transporting them to the seaport.

Inland Container Depots are also sometimes referred to as the ‘Dry ports.’

Along with being a storage facility, ICDs can also provide export and import customs clearances.

All the services that are provided at a port, can also be availed at the ICD situated far away from the port.

Ali Makki, Lexus Developments Limited director, said his company chose the location for the ICD with a view to accommodate the expansion of the Greater Kampala Metropolitan area.

The Lexus Developments Limited offices housing the URA offices at the dry port

The Lexus Developments Limited offices housing the URA offices at the dry port

He said they are also looking forward to handling some things for oil and gas activities.

Lexus ICD operated under its mother company SABA-GIFCO currently has a footprint in eight Middle Eastern and East African countries, independently or jointly with other companies.

They specialised in packaging, pick-up and delivery services.

The Namanve facility, according to Makki, has in place quality controls for health, safety, security and environment.

“With modern equipment such as terex reach stackers, forklifts, refrigerated trailers, weighing scales, stackable galvanised shelves, the ICD ensures they can handle any cargo in a safe and secure manner,” Makki said.

“We have well trained staff, ample and secure parking space, raking storage space and automated software systems. Armed guards with CCTV cameras and motion sensors protect clients’ cargo seven days a week. The ICD handles containerised, bulk, groupage/ consolidate cargo, temperature controlled, over dimension and hazardous cargo,” he explained.

Hamza Galiwango, the director land investment at the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA), noted that this particular ICD will be a critical service in boosting business in the industrial park through providing faster cargo services.

“Industrialists operating in the industrial park are able to secure their cargo quickly for production purposes. The ICD will boost employment creation, as well as increasing revenue generation for the country through payment of tax revenue,” Galiwango said.

Dan Muyinza, a local tile importer, said he is happy with the presence of URA and UNBS, saying it has aided faster clearance of his containers.

“I would spend several hours rotating and waiting for URA officers to come and visit, but at the Lexus ICD is now my one stop-centre. All I need is to get my container inside and its cleared within a short time, which is good for business,” Muyinza said.

Bigger Park Plans shelved

Since 2014, there had been plans to establish a 200 acre ICD at Malaba, which should have been the biggest in the country.

Even though the land for it was acquired, the plans for the Malaba facility have been shelved for the time being after many unfavourable developments.

Establishment of the Malaba ICD was premised on the fact that the East African countries were to build a Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) that would start at the Mombasa coast in Kenya, and traverse Uganda, connecting to South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and, finally to Rwanda.

The SGR was supposed to facilitate faster transfer of goods and services, hence aiding cheaper and faster economic activity through the East African Region and parts of the Great Lakes Region through the Eastern part of DRC. Currently, the SGR seems to be on halt after Kenya dragged its feet to extend its bit to Malaba from where Uganda would pick it and extend it through its territory to the borders with neighbours South Sudan to the north, the DR Congo in the west and Rwanda in the south. 

Uganda was also relying on the Chinese EXIM Bank for a loan to construct its SGR, which was never processed. This put Uganda’s plans on a standstill.

Also, Rwanda seems to have pulled out of the deal and has already started pursuing establishment of an SGR through the Tanzanian route instead.   

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