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Kenya Hopes to Spur Investment as LAPSSET Project Unfolds

Kenya Hopes to Spur Investment as LAPSSET Project Unfolds

The project coordination secretariat report suggests a range of opportunities in food processing industries, fish industries and electric power plants (coal and LNG Fired).

With the first phase of the project – the construction of Lamu Port headquarters – at 80 percent completion, the focus now turns to phase two. This will see the building of police lines and staff houses and is due for completion in June 2014.

It is estimated that by 2020 and 2030, total dry cargo throughput at Lamu and the Corridor will be 13.5 million tons and 24.9 million tons, respectively.

It is also estimated that by 2020, railway freight share will hit 96.1 percent of the total freight on the Southern Sudan-Isiolo route, 93.2 percent on the Ethiopia-Isiolo route, 94.3 percent on the Isiolo-Garissa route and 60.2 percent on the Garissa-Lamu section. These estimates exclude crude oil.

It is further estimated that passengers arriving by train at Lamu will have reached 600,000 per year come 2030. Road passenger volume between Nairobi and Lamu through Garissa will reach 700,000 people by 2030. The report projects that more than seven million passengers will be traveling by road between Nairobi and Isiolo every year. The road network will be improved through a public-private partnership scheme.

A pipeline of 1,065 miles is proposed to run parallel to the highway. It will transmit 500,000 barrels of crude oil per day from South Sudan to Lamu via Isiolo. About 82,400 barrels of refined oil will be pumped back to South Sudan daily. A private entity will operate and maintain the pipeline project.

The coastal region is expected to have a new oil refinery built across 130 acres of land. It will have a capacity to process approximately 125,000 barrels per day. The refinery will be owned and maintained by the private sector.

New cities at Lamu, Isiolo and Lake Turkana have also been proposed. Lamu will have a convention center, fisherman’s wharf, cultural and entertainment centers.

The cost of developing the cities will be met through a public-private partnership strategy. Maintenance will similarly be done through a joint effort between the public and private entities involved. Eco villages in the coastal islands will also be put up. In addition, there will be nature safaris and protection of archeological sites to boost tourism.

A number of airports will be constructed at various towns, with an additional international airport planned to ease the burden of expected increase in air traffic at Mombasa’s Moi International Airport.

The project will increase demand for electric power, which will open up opportunities for investors to venture into various energy supplement projects such as green energy. Ultimately, Kenya will seek to increase reliability of its power supply to support industrialization.