In Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana and Pakistan the number that matters is not the FOB price — it is what the machine costs once it is standing on your site. Freight, port charges, duty and inland transport can add a substantial share to the invoice, and they differ by country. This page breaks the landed cost into its five lines and shows which of them you can actually influence.
A quotation that stops at FOB is only the first line. Budget all five before you commit.
Qualitative, because the exact figures move with freight rates, port conditions and tariff schedules — but the pattern is stable.
| Cost line | Kenya (Mombasa) | Nigeria (Lagos) | Pakistan (Karachi) | Can you influence it? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ocean freight | Direct services, moderate | Congestion surcharges common | Moderate | Yes — by how the rig is packed |
| Clearance | Moderate pace | Slower, demurrage risk higher | Usually fast | Yes — clean documents |
| Duty & VAT | Per tariff schedule | Per tariff schedule | Per tariff schedule | Partly — HS classification |
| Inland transport | Long haul to upcountry sites | Long haul from Lagos | Short | Yes — by choosing the port |
| Spare parts | Air freight, days | Air freight, days | Air freight, days | Yes — by specifying common parts |
Two numbers define the machine: how deep and how wide. A 200 m rig drilling 300 mm needs more torque than a 300 m rig drilling 150 mm — and it is not automatically the cheaper machine. Buyers routinely specify depth, forget diameter, then discover at commissioning that the casing does not fit the hole they can actually drill.
The practical order is: decide the largest casing you will ever run, decide the deepest hole you will ever drill, and only then compare classes. If you are unsure, the water well drilling rigs range lists both figures per model, which makes the comparison concrete rather than rhetorical.
Purchase price is roughly half of what a borehole rig costs you over five years. The rest is bits, rods, mud, fuel, filters and downtime. A cheaper machine with an uncommon engine and no local parts channel can cost more than a premium machine by year two — and the difference shows up as idle days, not as an invoice.
Two questions separate the machines before price enters the conversation: which engine is it, and where is the nearest parts stock? If the answer to either is vague, the discount is being funded by your future downtime.
If you are costing a project rather than buying equipment, borehole drilling cost is a different calculation and starts from metres per day, not from the machine. In hard rock the method decides the day rate — percussion drilling with a top hammer or a DTH hammer runs several times faster than rotary. In exploration work an RC drilling rig returns chips faster than core at a lower cost per metre, which is why grade-control programmes use it rather than coring everything.
We handle: export declaration, packing and container loading plan, CE documentation where applicable, and the shipping documents your clearing agent needs. We do not: under-declare the invoice value. It is the fastest way to turn a shipment into a customs dispute, and the fine usually exceeds the duty saved.
The questions that come up once buyers start costing the shipment, not just the machine.
Because FOB stops at the ship's rail. Freight, insurance, port charges, duty, VAT and inland transport are all added after that point, and in some corridors they add a substantial share. Ask for a landed estimate before you compare suppliers — two FOB prices cannot be compared if one includes packing and the other does not.
No. It is the fastest route to a customs dispute, and the penalty normally exceeds the duty saved. What we can do is classify the machine correctly, itemise the shipment so duty is applied to the right lines, and pack it so you pay for the smallest container configuration that genuinely fits.
Qingdao and Tianjin for most rigs, with Shanghai for southern buyers. The choice affects freight cost more than it affects lead time, so we quote the cheaper option unless you have a reason to prefer a specific port.
Yes, and it is the part of the offer worth checking before you buy. We hold spares for every model we ship and can send urgent items by air while a sea order is in transit. Ask the contact page for the spare parts list for the model you are considering, and compare how long that list is between suppliers.
Send your destination port and city. We will return the machine price, the freight configuration that fits it, and the documents you will need for clearance.
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