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Six countries in Eastern Africa
have approved the construction of
67 roadside stations (RSSs) in the
region’s Northern Corridor to reduce
accidents, safeguard cargo and
enhance traffic movement between
them and the region’s largest and
their only entry port of Mombasa.
The roadside stations have been
designed on the Japanese model of
Michi-no-Eki, which are government
designated rest places for travelers
and passengers on the country’s
major roads and highways. The rest
places, which have 24-hour parking
access, also promote tourism, trade
with restrooms and facilities for
sharing information.
The RSSs on the 2,000km Northern
Corridor, which links Kenya, Uganda,
Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic
Republic of Congo and South Sudan,
to the port of Mombasa and the
busiest route in Eastern Africa, will
have four components. The service
clusters include rest space for drivers
and passengers, information space
with communication services, banking
and money transfer services, space for
specialized services such as medical,
training, safety and education, and
finally links to local communities with
support services for the development
of small businesses.
“The RSSs long term goal will be to
enhance connectivity, road safety, and
health along the Northern Corridor
using the RSSs as a launch pad,”
said Dr Donat Bagula, the Northern
Corridor Transit and Transport
Coordination Authority (NCTTCA).
According to Isaac Kamau of the
Kenya National Transport Safety
Authority, “by allowing long distance
drivers to have breaks at appropriate
intervals and at suitable and secure
facilities, a network of well designed
RSSs will eliminate driver fatigue and
improve security and health for the
crews, long distance passengers and
cargo.”
The reason for adopting the Japanese
model, said Hideo Eguchi of the Japan
International Cooperation Agency
(JICA) is because Japan found it
successful in improving road safety
and driver passenger welfare. “Japan
is ready to share experiences with East
Africa,” said Eguchi in Nairobi.
According to Philip Wambugu, Director
of Infrastructure at the regional
organization East Africa Community,
whose members include Kenya,
Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and
Burundi the region, “fully embraces
the RSSs as it is aligned to the goal
of having efficient and safe transport
services in East Africa.”
The implementation of the RSSs
concept came after studies by a
consortium of Spanish consulting
engineering firms which specialize
in civil engineering, architecture,
building technology, energy and
the environment. During the study,
financed by JICA and Trademark East
Africa, at least 144 sites were identified
for setting up RSSs, but only 67 were
found suitable. The RSSs sites are
shared among the six countries with
Kenya having 22, Uganda 27, Rwanda
7, Democratic Republic of Congo 7 and
2 each in Burundi and South Sudan.
According to the NCTTCA, the entity
that is responsible for the management,
development, rehabilitation and
maintenance of the Northern Corridor,
the establishment of the RSSs is the
best way, “to support cost-effective,
reliable and safe conveyance of freight
and people in East Africa.”
Currently, NCTTCA estimates the
total logistics cost of moving a 20-foot
container from the port of Mombasa
to Kenya’s capital Nairobi, about
408km, to be around $9,174, while a
similar load will cost $28,309 to be
moved from the same port to South
Sudan’s capital Juba, 1,628km away.
The agency considers the cost to be
on the high side because, “the corridor
delivers low level services owing to
poor travel conditions.”
“There are a few rest facilities with
parking spaces that can accommodate
heavy and large vehicles. Most lodging
facilities used by truck drivers do not
meet the basic sanitary and hygienic
conditions,” the TYPSA study said.
“Additionally, markets have sprung
up in a disorderly fashion along the
roadside with hawkers approaching
moving vehicles resulting in more
accidents. Public agencies’ controls
are not always well organized, leading
to traffic congestion at weighbridges,
borders and police/customs
checkpoints and results in non-tariff
barriers.”
The study findings show that because
of these non-tariff barriers along the
corridor, “ travel speeds are low,
security of cargo and crews are
poor, road accidents are very high,
corruption is common at check points,
and HIV/AIDS is rampant among truck
drivers and their clients at truck-stops.”
Road Side Stations
boost Africa Corridor
By Shem Oirere
14
Logistics Business Magazine | September 2015
African Logistics