Kenya’s transportation and storage sector posted a 6.4% growth in 2024, with the value of output rising from Sh 3,275.6 billion in 2023 to Sh 3,484.9 billion, according to the latest data.
The sector’s performance was buoyed by increased investment in road maintenance, rising cargo volumes, and higher passenger traffic at airports.
Road transport THE remained the dominant contributor to the sector, accounting for 75.1% of the total output in 2024.
This was slightly lower than 76.9% in 2023. Actual funds disbursed for road maintenance surged by 20.1%, reaching Sh 80.1 billion in the 2023/24 financial year, reflecting the government’s continued focus on road infrastructure.
However, the number of newly registered road motor vehicles fell sharply by 21.4% to 93,646, while registrations of motor and autocycles, including three-wheelers, also declined by 4.7% to 72,868.
Meanwhile, road traffic accidents rose significantly by 11.8%, with 11,173 incidents reported in 2024.
Freight transported via the Metre Gauge Railway (MGR) increased to 1,029 thousand tonnes in 2024 from 1,001 thousand tonnes the previous year.
However, passenger traffic through MGR dropped by 26.9% to 2.52 million.
The Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) also recorded a decline in passenger numbers, falling by 10.3% to 2.45 million.
Interestingly, passenger revenue for SGR rose sharply by 39.4% to Sh 4.1 billion, indicating increased fares or a shift to higher-value services.
At the Port of Mombasa, total cargo throughput rose by 13.9% to 40.99 million metric tonnes.
Container traffic also surged by 23.5%, with the port handling 2 million Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs), up from 1.62 million in 2023.
The number of licensed small vessels increased significantly by 60.5% to 1,011, while the number of newly registered seafarers declined slightly by 5.5% to 3,378.
The volume of white petroleum products transported via pipeline rose by 4.5% to 8.51 million cubic metres.
Petroleum products in transit through Kenya also increased by 8.0% to 3.82 million cubic metres.
Airports in Kenya handled 12.83 million passengers in 2024, marking a 5.1% increase from 2023.
International passenger numbers grew by 9.6% to 7.28 million, showing continued recovery in global travel demand.
Private courier operator outlets rose by 10.8% to 1,158 in 2024, and licensed courier operators increased by 4.5% to 348.
Notably, the volume of outgoing domestic letters nearly doubled to 2.41 million from 1.22 million in 2023 suggesting a resurgence in mail and document services.
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