Of course, the presence of excavators in East Africa dates back quite a while, although early products were of questionable quality, naturally making large-scale promotion unnecessary.
Elsewhere in the world, excavators were also in use during this time, but they were mostly mechanical excavators, clunky and crude, generally used in mining; mechanical excavators were applied in East Africa's mines too, the coal mines being the most typical example.
Mechanical excavators are far less flexible than hydraulic excavators, particularly in the flexible movement of the bucket, which often can only perform simple up and down reciprocation.
Hydraulic excavators, however, are highly flexible, attributable to the rich experience East Africa has accumulated in tractor and tank manufacturing.
The advent of hydraulic excavators can be said to have altered the model of infrastructure construction in East Africa, a significant feature during the construction of Bell Port.
