Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed are set to inspect the ongoing construction of the Lamu Port, which is part of the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia-Transport (Lapsset) Corridor project launched in 2012.
Construction of the first three berths of the planned 32-berth Lamu Port, has been completed at a cost of Sh 71.2bn. It is being developed by China Communication Construction Company (CCCC). The government put up the first three while the rest extended to financiers and private sector for development.
The major players in the port equipment market include Liebherr (Switzerland), TTS (Norway), Kalmar (Finland), Konecranes (Finland), Sany (China) and Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries (ZPMC) (China). Others are Hyster (US), Lonking (China), CVS Ferrari (Italy), Anhui Heli (China), and Famur Famak (Poland), among others.
Boost in trade
World’s largest container shipping company, Maersk is among those that are eyeing Lamu Port, a boost to the facility which is slowly getting international maritime players attention. Kenya is counting on the LAPSSET corridor to open up trade with her Northern neighbours, mainly Ethiopia and South Sudan.
The tour of Lapsset by the two heads of state will put aside uncertainty about the project, especially after relations between Ethiopia and its neighbour Eritrea thawed. Ethiopia currently relies on the Djibouti port for its international trade. It became landlocked after the secession of Eritrea in 1993. The Lapsset project’s goal is to connect Ethiopia to the Kenyan coastline at Lamu and boost trade between the two countries.
