The Kenya Defence Forces will officially transfer the MV Uhuru II, valued at Sh2.4 billion, to the Kenya Railways Corporation in Kisumu on Thursday.
This new vessel, which measures 100 meters in length, was constructed by Kenya Shipyards Limited (KSL), a state-owned entity, starting in June 2021.
President William Ruto inaugurated the MV Uhuru II, designed for operations on Lake Victoria, in October 2023.
The handover ceremony will be attended by Cabinet Secretary for Defence Soipan Tuya and Cabinet Secretary for Roads Davis Chirchir at the KSL facility by the lakeshore.
This new addition is intended to complement the existing MV Uhuru I and address the growing demand for cargo transport in the Lake Victoria region.
This development highlights Kenya’s emerging role as a shipbuilding and repair hub in East Africa, creating numerous job opportunities at the Port as the vessel will facilitate the transport of goods to Uganda and Tanzania.
The construction of MV Uhuru II showcases KSL’s capacity to build, repair, and maintain vessels for both local and regional markets.
The initiative is part of the government’s efforts to revitalize the maritime transport and logistics sector, aligning with the Bottom Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) of the Kenya Kwanza administration.
The original MV Uhuru I, which was built in 1965, successfully returned to service in 2019 after rehabilitation by the Kenya Defence Forces, and it has a cargo capacity of 1,260 tonnes.
MV Uhuru II, meanwhile, can carry 1,063 metric tonnes and is specifically optimized for transporting petroleum products, cereals, fertilizers, sugar, and seeds.
