INFRASTRUCTURE * Kenya - Bulk cargo damaging roads
Gross tonnage of a five tonne container largely leads to excess axle loads, which can only be detected at weighbridges
Nairobi,Kenya -The Business Daily Africa, by Ben Sanga -July 2, 2008: -- Bulky containers meant to be transported by rail from the port of Mombasa have found their way onto the roads and are said to be a major contributor to damages on the Kenyan roads... Such containers, according to the stakeholders in the transport industry, gets their way to the roads largely due to the absence of the weighbridges in the port of Mombasa and inefficiency of the rail transport in the country... The containers in question weigh five tonnes when empty compared with the ordinary ones that weigh just two tonnes. The former are commonly used to ship caustic soda and are meant to be carried by rail while those that weigh two tonnes are used to carry normal cargo and are suited for road transport... Gross tonnage of a five tonne container largely leads to excess axle loads, which can only be detected at weighbridges. The accepted axle load on Kenyan roads is eight tonnes... It is also emerging that many truck owners, drivers and loaders who are punished for excess axle loads are knowingly or unknowingly victims of circumstances created by shipping lines, the loader (Kenya Ports Authority) and the owner of the container... (Video from YouTube by macharia11 - September 04, 2007: "Driving in Kenya", Africa for that matter can be an interesting experience. It takes balls and some serious patience)
Labels: infrastructures
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