Overview: Road, rail, and air transport are all significant in Kenya, while water transport plays a minor role. All of Kenya’s transportation sectors, but particularly road and rail, are in need of stepped-up investment for better maintenance and expansion.

Roads: Kenya has an extensive 64,000-kilometer road network, of which about 8,000 kilometers are paved. The roads, which carry more than 80 percent of passenger and freight traffic, offer increasing coverage of all parts of the country. However, serious under-investment and corruption in contracts have left the road network in a poor state of repair. This poor condition contributes to an appalling rate of road accidents and deaths, the highest in the world. Road safety is further reduced by the operation of 25,000 matutas (minibuses), which constitute about 78 percent of the country’s public transport system. Aiming to cut carnage on the roads, the Kibaki government in February 2004 obliged matuta owners to install safety equipment, a measure that led to sharp fare increases and overcrowded trains. The government and donor countries have prioritized the rehabilitation of the road infrastructure as a key part of the country’s development strategy. In April 2004, the World Bank approved funding of US$207 million to support the Northern Corridor Transport Improvement (NCTI) project, 80 percent of which will be spent on roads. Other funds will come from private capital offset by toll charges, as well as donations from the European Union and the United States.

Railroads: Kenya’s railroad system has about 2,778 kilometers of narrow-gauge, one-meter track, 150 stations, and a fleet of 156 locomotives and some 7,000 coaches and wagons, including container-carrying Railtrainers. The system, managed by the Kenya Railway Corporation (KRC), serves both Kenya and land-locked countries in the East African region. The most important route runs from Mombasa through Nairobi to the Ugandan border. Kenya also has commuter rail that serves the Nairobi suburbs. Kenya and Uganda are jointly seeking a concessionaire to operate and invest in their rail networks. Bidding opened in 2004, with a final award due in mid-2005. The winner will acquire rights to 1,920 kilometers of track in Kenya, which carried an average of 2.3 million tons of freight and 4.7 million passengers per year between fiscal year (FY) 2000 and FY 2003.

Ports: Kenya’s principal seaport, Mombasa, is the main sea outlet for both inland Kenya and the land-locked countries of East and Central Africa, e.g., Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and southern Sudan. The Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), created in 1978, manages port operations at Mombasa, as well as inland container depots in Nairobi, Eldoret, and Kisumu. The KPA also has jurisdiction over the small ports of Lamu, Kiunga, Kilifi, Malindi, Funzi, Mtwapa, Shimoni, and Vanga. Mombasa is a deep-water port with 21 berths that can handle all sizes of ships and 300,000 containers per year. Freight handled through Mombasa jumped by 12.6 percent in 2003 to 14.3 million tons, but inefficiencies, corruption, and deteriorating infrastructure at the port continue to be cited as a major deterrent to business in Kenya. There are plans to refurbish some of the port’s equipment.

Inland Waterways: Water transport is the least used mode of transportation in Kenya, limited to the coastal and lake regions. The only significant inland waterway is the part of Lake Victoria within the boundaries of Kenya. The Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) operates ferry services there to link Ugandan and Tanzanian locations with Kisumu, Kenya’s third largest town and a once bustling port. The ferry supplements interstate rail and road traffic. In addition to the ferry, the KRC has two freight tugs, nine lighter barges, and three passenger vessels on Lake Victoria.

Civil Aviation and Airports: Kenya has more than 200 airports and airfields, of which 15 have paved runways, including the four with runways longer than 3,000 meters. About 35 airfields can be considered commercial. Three airports handle international flights, Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), Mombasa’s Moi International Airport (MIA), and Eldoret International Airport. Other airports are Wilson in Nairobi, Malindi, Kakuma, and Kisumu, and numerous airstrips throughout the country. The Northern Corridor Transport Improvement (NCTI) project approved in mid-2004 includes US$41 million for aviation. The funds are earmarked to enhance facilities and safety at JKIA and MIA, including perimeter fencing and new navigation, security, and baggage-handling equipment. The runway extension at JKIA will raise capacity from 2.5 to 5.5 million passengers per year. A key objective of the airport upgrade is to win “category one” status from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to allow for direct flights between JKIA and U.S. airports. Direct flights would boost tourism and trade and secure JKIA’s status as a regional hub.

Pipelines: The Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC), a state-owned enterprise (parastatal) formed in 1973, transports about 90 percent of the petroleum products consumed in Kenya’s domestic market. The KPC owns and operates the Mombasa-Nairobi pipeline, whose throughput has risen because of restrictions imposed on the road transport of petroleum to stem the diversion of supplies to local markets. A second pipeline stretches from Eldoret to Kisumu in the west of the country, and a recent project is to extend the pipeline from Eldoret to Kampala in Uganda, under the auspices of the East African Community (EAC). The KPC is the dominant player in the regional energy sector, exporting to Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Sudan.

Telecommunications: In 2003 Kenya’s telephone landlines numbered 328,400. The generally unreliable system has seen little modernization except for service to businesses. Mobile cellular phone use is expanding rapidly, with the number of users climbing from 1.6 million in mid-2003 to 2.5 million in mid-2004. The cellular phone system is operated by two license holders, Safaricom and Kencell, to be joined by a third, Econet Wireless Kenya, in mid-2005. Internet use also has expanded rapidly, reaching 400,000 users by 2002. The country had eight television broadcast stations in 2002 and more than three dozen radio stations. In 1997 televisions numbered 730,000 and radios, 3 million.

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This series of profiles of foreign nations is part of the Country Studies Program, formerly the Army Area Handbook Program. The profiles offer brief, summarized information on a country’s historical background, geography, society, economy, transportation and telecommunications, government and politics, and national security. In addition to being featured in the front matter of published Country Studies, they are now being prepared as stand-alone reference aides for all countries in the series, as well as for a number of additional countries of interest. The profiles offer reasonably current country information independent of the existence of a recently published Country Study and will be updated annually or more frequently as events warrant.