The Influence of Hinterland Transport Inefficiencies on the Performance of Ports-A Case Study of Kenya Ports Authority

This research focused into the influence of hinterland logistics and transport connectivity on the port of Mombasa with the objective of determining the northern corridor inefficiencies and how they influence performance of port of Mombasa. Mombasa port with vast hinterland in the east and central Africa provided a better platform to describe the relationship. The researcher will employ a descriptive research to describe the state of affairs as it exists and a stratified sampling method to reach at most representative respondents in the study universe of fifty-eight respondents covering port users and clearing and forwarding agents, port officials and leading transport and logistics organizations: KSC and KMA. Questionnaires and interviews will be used by the researcher as instruments to collect data and finally analyse and synthesize for presentation using Microsoft Excel data analysis software for purposes of achieving objectives. The findings of the research effectively revealed that the influence of hinterland transport inefficiencies on performance by KPA was glaring. Northern corridor inefficiencies was found to contribute to slow uptake of cargo into the hinterland leading to high truck turn round time and therefore high cargo dwell time at the port, leading to a conclusion that indeed hinterland transport connectivity plays a significant role in the success of ports. Major recommendations made is that KPA to lobby for a participatory role in policy formulation and implementation on design, maintenance and prioritization on roads infrastructure development and modern dual railway transport system with dynamic wagon loads to accommodate different cargo weights. The government agencies involved in cargo administration to invest in integrated ICT to facilitate smooth flow and management of information thereby removing unnecessary corridor administrative stations and finally KPA to revive the practice of port regionalization concept by investing in inland dry ports in major market areas so that shippers would not cover long distance on poor infrastructure to the port.