Delayed completion of road affects transit operations at Lamu Port

Lamu port has failed to attract transit business due to delays in the completion of the main highway linking Ethiopia and South Sudan.

Stakeholders also said that the facility’s first three berths were commissioned in 2021, but it has yet to become a transshipment hub due to insufficient marketing efforts.

Despite concerted efforts by state agencies to position Lamu Port as a trading port, it has received only one vessel bound for Ethiopia. No vessel bound for South Sudan has ever unloaded at the port, despite the Horn of Africa country being touted as a beneficiary of the port.

Yesterday, former Chairman of Lamu County Council, Hassan Alberti, said the delayed construction of the 257km Lamu-Ijara-Garissa road and the 83km Ijara-Sangeru-Huluho road had affected business at the port.

“The project has almost come to a standstill. It had good momentum in the beginning but later it lost momentum. We need goodwill and engagement with local and international partners to get funding to revive the project,” he said.

Alberti said the people of Lamu should Lapset Corridor Development The Authority Board and the Lamu County Government should be fully engaged in the project.

However, other residents want the government to let them participate in the project and fully involve the Lamu County Government, while seeking regional and international support.

The project will build highways, pipelines, airports, resort cities, refineries and railway lines connecting countries in the region. A special economic zone will also be established in Lamu.

So far, the government has built the first three berths at a cost of Sh41 billion and launched them in May 2021 by then President Uhuru Kenyatta.

In April 2021, the Kenyan government, through the Kenya National Highways Authority, awarded a tender to China Communications Construction Company to build roads serving the port for Sh17.9 billion. The roads were originally scheduled to be completed within 24 months, but the work was delayed due to security challenges. These include the 257-kilometer Lamu-Ijara-Garissa (Lapsett Corridor) and the 83-kilometer Ijara-Sangeru-Huluho road.

former kenyan port Abdullah Fadil, a member of the authority’s board of directors, said residents will be welcomed with employment and business opportunities once the facility and the rest of the Lapset (Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia-Transport Corridor) projects are fully operational.

He, however, attributed the delay to corruption and lack of goodwill.

“We expect the Lapsette project to create jobs and business opportunities for our people, but we are concerned about project delays. We also want full participation in the project,” he said.

Walid Ali, director of the Lamu Youth Union, said there is not much activity in Lamu Port at the moment and locals are yet to benefit from the entire Lapsette project.

He noted that in 2012, former President Mwai Kibaki instructed 1,000 Lamu youth The county received training in port operations, but only 400 people benefited from the program.

Walid said if the Lapsett project is restarted, Lamu residents will have access to tenders, jobs and business opportunities that will improve their living standards.

The Lapsett railway is expected to connect the African continent on the Indian Ocean side with the Atlantic coast and in the north link the Northern Corridor with Djibouti, Sudan and Egypt.

The Lapsette Bridge is expected to connect the mainland with the Atlantic coast on the Indian Ocean side, and northwards to the northern corridor leading to Djibouti, Sudan and Egypt.

The Lamu port is planned to have 32 berths and be connected to the region by thousands of kilometers of new railway tracks, pipelines and a highway. The corridor will have three resort cities, several airports and an artificial dam.