Northern Corridor trade grows by 7%
TRADE along the Northern Corridor grows by 7% per annum but more effort<br>needs to be put on infrastructural<br>development, a high level workshop was<br>told in Kampala recently.
By Peter Kaujju
TRADE along the Northern Corridor grows by 7% per annum but more effort
needs to be put on infrastructural
development, a high level workshop was
told in Kampala recently.
The trade volumes grew to 10.5m tones in 2002 to sh14.5m in 2006. The corridor runs from Mombasa port through Kampala, Kigali, Bujumbura and Kinshasa.
Attended by representatives from Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, the DRCongo and the Sudan, the participants noted that the poor shape of the transport network needed quick
action.
“It is estimated that trade through Mombasa port will exceed 20 million tonnes in the next five years and 30%
of it will originate or be destined to the landlocked countries of the corridor,â€
said Godfrey Onyango, the executive secretary of the Northern Corridor Transit Transport Coordination Authority.
Onyango estimated intratrade in the corridor at approximately $1.3b in 2005
and a growth of three million tonnes per annum in terms of volumes.
He noted that the chaos in Kenya pushed up the cost of doing business along the
corridor by 25% in January.
The workshop was part of the initiatives to turn the corridor into an economic development route because of its regional importance.
TRADE along the Northern Corridor grows by 7% per annum but more effort
needs to be put on infrastructural
development, a high level workshop was
told in Kampala recently.
The trade volumes grew to 10.5m tones in 2002 to sh14.5m in 2006. The corridor runs from Mombasa port through Kampala, Kigali, Bujumbura and Kinshasa.
Attended by representatives from Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, the DRCongo and the Sudan, the participants noted that the poor shape of the transport network needed quick
action.
“It is estimated that trade through Mombasa port will exceed 20 million tonnes in the next five years and 30%
of it will originate or be destined to the landlocked countries of the corridor,â€
said Godfrey Onyango, the executive secretary of the Northern Corridor Transit Transport Coordination Authority.
Onyango estimated intratrade in the corridor at approximately $1.3b in 2005
and a growth of three million tonnes per annum in terms of volumes.
He noted that the chaos in Kenya pushed up the cost of doing business along the
corridor by 25% in January.
The workshop was part of the initiatives to turn the corridor into an economic development route because of its regional importance.