THE Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) plans on digitising its primary services to sharpen its competitive edge, Nairobi's Business Daily reported
THE Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) plans on digitising its primary services to sharpen its competitive edge, Nairobi's Business Daily reported. KPA managing director Daniel Manduku was quoted as saying in the report: 'One of the key drivers of change has been the shipping industry which is continuously changing through innovations and new inventions.
'Ship sizes have grown, with possibilities of further creation of larger vessels,' he said during the unveiling in Mombasa of the authority's five-year plan that ends in 2022.
He said that while 20,000-TEU vessels have become 'a reality and soon we expect even bigger vessels of up to 50,000 TEU capacity'.
Said Mr Manduku: 'KPA is alive to the fact that ports must keep up with changes. Smart and green port operations, sustainable infrastructure development and innovative funding options, are among the newer areas of focus.'
The managing director also said emerging technologies in the industry are transforming operations, citing artificial intelligence, internet of things, big data, block chains, port information platforms, as well as remote container and equipment monitoring.
'These innovations are being piloted in various ports globally and are already institutionalised in some,' Mr Manduku said.
In addition, he said that challenges of cyber security and the rapid development of e-commerce are also and 'need to be addressed holistically'.
WORLD SHIPPING
