THE Kenyan Government Performance Contract report, upgraded the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) from "good" to "very good" in recognition of the agency's 43.7 per cent year-on-year increase in transshipments and a 10.8 hike in container volume in 2011.

"This is a great improvement from the 'good' grade we achieved the previous year," says KPA managing director Gichiri Ndua said. "We emerged position 64 out of the 178 evaluated State Corporations while in the commercial and manufacturing category we took position 12 out of 30."

For the first time since the initiation of performance contracting, a state Corporation achieved the "excellent" category, reported Kenya's Coastweek.

"This is the much coveted rank we missed courtesy of a few departments that pulled us back," said Mr Ndua.

Container traffic was up 10.8 per cent which is above the international growth rate of eight per cent, he said.

"In March, we received the first longest vessel [241 metres] ever to call at Mombasa following the successful completion of dredging of the channel and the turning basin," Mr Ndua said, referring to the 3,000-TEU MSC Jade, drawing 11.9 metres.

"Between December 2011 and February 2012, we experienced unprecedented congestion but due to your untiring support and hard work, we are on course to normalising operations under the Rapid Results Initiative (RRI) guidelines," he said.