Iroto, Irine2019-09-122022-06-072019-09-122022-06-0701-10-18https://ikesra.kra.go.ke/handle/123456789/161The Port of Mombasa is the gateway and exit point for cargo belonging to a vast hinterland of Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, South Sudan, Somalia and Ethiopia. Therefore, the performance of the port of Mombasa is critical to facilitation of trade within this region and also as a node linking it to international trade. There are a number of indicator of port performance and efficiency and this focused on one such indicator of dwell time, in particular container dwell time. In studying factors affecting container dwell at the port of Mombasa, the study covered such factors as port clearance procedure, port container handling machinery and port terminal operations with the aim of unearthing their influence and recommending actions that will fundamentally contribute to improved port service delivery to all port users. The study targeted a population of 300 people drawn from Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM), Kenya International Freight and Warehousing Association (KIFWA), Shippers Council of Eastern Africa (SCEA) and transporters (roads) servicing the Northern Corridor Region. A sample size of 20% was chosen for the study that took four weeks with questionnaires being used as the main data collection instrument and the researcher administered questionnaires to 60 sampled respondents where only 49 filled and returned giving a response rate of 81.67%. The data analysis included descriptive and inferential statistics where the findings were presented in tables and figures. From the research findings, the study concluded all the independent variables studied (port clearance procedure, port container handling machinery and port terminal operations) have significant effect on container dwell time as was indicated by a very high coefficient of determination (R2) value of 0.768 (76.8%) and an overall p-value of 0.002 thus indicated the relevance of the studied variables, significant at the calculated 95% level of significance. Stepwise in view of the research findings, the study can conclude from the multiple regression analysis that all factors affected positively the container dwell time at the port of Mombasa with port clearance procedures being the highest influence with factor value of 0.934 with all other factors held at zero. The study recommended that concerning the port clearance procedure there is need to maintain a better port information system through strengthening the Integrated Customs Management System (ICMS) by having all processes of KPA and KRA agencies handled within a single platform. Further recommended is that in improving the port container handling machinery there be need by KPA for adoption of the most modern technologies and machinery in the market. Finally there should be ensured seamless port terminal operations through enforcement of the rule of ships not to be allowed to berth before the submission of manifest. And since it was found that only 76.8% of results were explained by the independent variables in the study, the study therefore recommended the need to carry out studies on other possible factors on container dwell time that will target private sector and other government agencies that have a direct influence on container delivery from/to the port of Mombasa through the Northern Corridor. These researches will involve studies on how the introduction and implementation of the Single Custom Territory is impacting on container dwell time at the port of Mombasa and pre-arrival clearance of goods and its impact on port terminal operation in terms of planning and container handling as related to container dwell time at the port of Mombasa.enContainer Dwell TimeMombasaArticle