More than 7,500 small scale traders who import by consolidating cargo will no longer have to collect goods at the Nairobi Inland Container Depot (ICD).

Kenya Revenue Authority had earlier gazetted facilities meant to enhance clearance of cargo within the Nairobi Central Business District (NCBD).

Previously, most small scale traders had to collect their consolidated wares from Nairobi (ICD) in what was a costly and inconvenient exercise, but this now changes.

“Effective Monday 8th February 2021, all consolidated cargo imported by sea and transported to Nairobi through the Standard Gauge Railway, will be deconsolidated, cleared, and collected by the owners at the Kenya Railways Corporation (Boma Line) Transit Shed,” said KRA in a statement.

The container freight station will reduce the cost of doing business for traders, by enabling them to now pick their goods from comfort of their homes in Nairobi, as opposed to having to travel to the port city of Mombasa.

Small traders

Combined with the KRA’s efforts to train traders to eliminate the need for third parties, such as clearing agents, the importation of goods will no longer be an agonisingly expensive and time-consuming process.

Boma line will serve over 7500 small scale traders operating in Nairobi and its environs and is expected to enhance ease the cost of doing business for small traders. 

It will accommodate approximately a hundred 40-foot containers per month raking in approximately Sh110 million in revenues.

Post-covid, the number is expected to rise to about 300 containers a month, earning Sh1 billion a month in revenue. 

Traders from areas served by the metre gauge railway such as Nanyuki and Sagana will now find it easier to transport their cargo upcountry via the railway from the Boma Line transit shed.