Nairobi and Naivasha ICD charges: the KPA 2025 rates

Updated 12 November 2026

Nairobi and Naivasha ICD charges are set out in the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) tariff that took effect on 15 September 2025. For a full container load (FCL) handled at those inland container depots, including shore-handling at the port, the book lists USD 96 for a 20-foot domestic import and USD 144 for a 40-foot domestic import. Transit import rates at the ICDs are lower, at USD 64 and USD 96. Storage is charged only after a free period: five days for domestic imports and 15 days for transit imports. The figures are in US dollars, exclude VAT, and are not a complete landed-cost quote.

All rates below are taken from the Kenya Ports Authority Tariff hosted on portal.kpa.co.ke, checked on 12 November 2026. The preamble says the minister approved the tariff and that it has been in force since 15 September 2025. Clause IX states that all charges exclude VAT and any other statutory charges where applicable. Ask KPA or your clearing agent for a written invoice before you budget, and confirm that this is still the tariff in force.

What KPA means by an ICD

In the interpretation section, KPA defines inland container depots as designated container depots that the Port Authority manages in Nairobi, Naivasha, Kisumu and Eldoret, and any other depot the Authority may later establish. Nairobi’s depot is referred to later in the book as ICD Embakasi. These are KPA facilities, not the same thing as a container freight station (CFS). The same section defines a CFS as a customs-licensed inland depot appointed by the Kenya Revenue Authority to handle, store and deliver containerised cargo and motor vehicles.

If your contract says the box will be cleared at a CFS, the ICD rates in this guide may not be the ones on your invoice. Clause 16 also lists separate shore-handling rates for containerised cargo through CFSs. This article concentrates on Nairobi and Naivasha ICD charges under the clauses that name those depots.

Shore-handling in the Nairobi and Naivasha ICD charges

Clause 16 sets shore-handling for containerised cargo. The ICD lines, 16.6 to 16.9, are each described as including shore-handling at the port. In other words, the figure is not only the inland depot lift; it is written as a combined port-plus-ICD shore-handling rate.

Empty containers are charged at 60% of the rates above (clause 16.11). Containers that hold dangerous cargo in whole or in part are surcharged a further 10% of the clause 16 rates (clause 16.18). Extra handling is listed separately: transfer within the port area at the customer’s request, or shut-out boxes not removed, at USD 40 and USD 60 (16.13); stripping or stuffing at USD 100 and USD 150 (16.14); a survey fee at USD 80 and USD 120 (16.15); reefer points at USD 2 or USD 3 an hour or part thereof (16.16); and re-marshalling after the free period at USD 60 and USD 90 (16.17).

For comparison, the ordinary port shore-handling rate for a domestic import full container, in clause 16.1, is USD 120 for a 20-foot box and USD 180 for a 40-foot box, which is higher than the ICD-inclusive rates. Do not add 16.1 on top of 16.6 unless KPA’s invoice actually does so; the ICD lines already say they include port shore-handling.

Wharfage is a different charge. Clause 17 says it is raised on cargo, including empty containers, passing over the quays, wharves, jetties, buoys and other installations within the harbour limits, except transhipment cargo. The listed rate for domestic and transit full containers, imports and exports, is USD 88 and USD 132. Whether that line appears on an ICD shipment depends on how the box was handled at the port. Treat it as a charge to confirm on the invoice, not as something this guide can waive or add automatically.

Storage and free periods for Nairobi and Naivasha ICD charges

Clause 18 sets storage for containers that remain in KPA terminals at Mombasa and at the ICDs after the free period. The ICD-specific bands are 18.6 to 18.8 and 18.11. Rates are per day or part thereof.

A typographical caution on transit import storage: after the 15-day free period, clause 18.7 prints a band labelled “6 to 21 days” at USD 30 and USD 60, then “thereafter” at USD 50 and USD 100. The comparable port rate in clause 18.3, which also has a 15-day free period, starts its paid band at “16 to 21 days”. The printed “6 to 21” heading in 18.7 overlaps the free period. We are not guessing which calendar days KPA bills. Ask the Authority how it applies 18.7 after day 15.

For cargo moving inland on a through bill of lading, clause 18.19 gives a 15-day free period from the date of landing for ICDs, and 21 days for Kampala, then USD 15 or USD 22.50 a day until the container is railed or trucked. Dangerous cargo and out-of-gauge boxes have their own, steeper storage from the second day of landing, in clauses 18.9 and 18.10.

Other charges around Nairobi and Naivasha ICD charges

Stevedoring, the ship-side work in Section II, is not itself one of the Nairobi and Naivasha ICD charges, but it still appears on many import files. Clause 14.6 says containers on a through bill of lading to ICD Embakasi or Naivasha are charged 90% of the ordinary cellular, non-cellular or ro-ro rates in clauses 14.1 to 14.3. Empty containers delivered to an ICD for railage back to the port for repatriation are charged at 40% of those same rates (clause 14.9). Ordinary empty containers are 60% of 14.1 to 14.6 (clause 14.8).

For loose, non-containerised cargo, clause 15.5 says imports and exports handled at ICDs are charged 70% of the conventional shore-handling rates in 15.1 to 15.4. There is also an “extra handling” line for cargo handled at ICDs: USD 6.50 a tonne for imports and USD 4.50 for exports (15.6 and 15.7). Those are harbour-tonne rates, or part thereof.

The preamble says the whole tariff is denominated in US dollars. KPA management may allow payment in Kenya shillings and reserves the right to prescribe the currency and the exchange rate. A shilling amount on an invoice should be checked against the rate KPA applied that day, not against a mid-market rate you chose yourself.

How a box actually gets to Nairobi or Naivasha

Most import containers still arrive at Mombasa. You can see which ships are alongside or waiting in the official shipping movement reports, as explained in our Mombasa port vessel schedule guide. Boxes bound for ICD Embakasi or Naivasha typically move inland by rail under a through bill of lading. Kenya Railways’ 2026 freight rates for that leg are on our SGR cargo rates page; they are a separate bill from the KPA tariff.

Once the container is at the depot, customs clearance and delivery are usually handled by a licensed clearing and forwarding agent. Our guide on how clearing agents charge at Mombasa port covers the agency side of the fee, which is not in the KPA book. Budget also for KRA duties and levies, Kenya Railways freight if the box came by SGR, and VAT on the KPA charges themselves. Nairobi and Naivasha ICD charges are only the Authority’s piece.

A practical sequence is: confirm the discharge and the TBL destination; track the rail move; collect KPA and KRA documents at the ICD; pay any storage before the free period runs out; and arrange delivery from the depot. If the box sits past the free days, storage in clause 18 will usually cost more than a day of delay felt “free”.

Frequently asked questions

How much are Nairobi and Naivasha ICD charges for a 20-foot domestic import?

The KPA 2025 tariff lists USD 96 for a domestic import FCL handled at the ICDs, including port shore-handling, plus VAT. Storage is free for the first five consecutive days, then USD 30 a day from day 6 to day 21, and USD 50 a day thereafter, until the box leaves the depot.

Do Nairobi and Naivasha ICD charges include the port lift?

Clauses 16.6 to 16.9 are each worded as including shore-handling at the port. Wharfage in clause 17 is a separate charge. Confirm both lines on the invoice.

Are Kisumu and Eldoret charged the same ICD rates?

The tariff defines ICDs as KPA depots in Nairobi, Naivasha, Kisumu and Eldoret, and the ICD handling clauses refer to “ICDs” rather than naming only two. We have focused this guide on Nairobi and Naivasha because those are the depots the stevedoring clause names for through bills of lading. Confirm the depot named on your bill of lading.

Do these rates include VAT or the rail freight?

No. The tariff says Nairobi and Naivasha ICD charges exclude VAT and other statutory charges. Rail freight to Nairobi or Naivasha is billed by Kenya Railways, not as a KPA ICD charge.