The government is banking on the two-day Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Nairobi from today to ink investment deals for the Sh2.5 trillion Lamu Port Southern Sudan-Ethiopia Transport Corridor.
Transport Principal Secretary Irungu Nyakera said rail, road, berths and pipeline projects are open to investors under the public-private partnership framework.
These include 29 berths at the 32-berth Lamu Port estimated to cost $5.3 billion (Sh537.1 billion), where the government has already started building the first three berths. Other projects are the Lamu-Moyale-Isiolo Nokadok road, the Standard Gauge Railway line and Lamu-Garissa-Isiolo-Moyale road.
The government is also seeking investors for the Lokichar-Lamu crude oil pipeline, a key project under the Lapsset, which will be interlinked with Ethiopia’s and South Sudan’s.
“TICAD VI is a great opportunity for the country and Africa at large. Japan is a long-standing partner with Kenya in development projects which include port and roads. Hopefully now this can also go to Lapsset,” Nyakera told delegates at a pre-Ticad Lapsset forum in Nairobi. The project has stalled since its launch on March 2, 2012, mainly due to inadequate funds and rival projects in the region.
Nyakera, however, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to the project. He said the 513-km Isiolo-Moyale road, which will link Kenya to Ethiopia (Moyale-Addis Ababa), is 95 per cent complete.
“Lapsset has the highest priority within government. To realise this we need private sector partnership,” Nyakera said, adding “our priority is the initial infrastructure hence the commercial aspect will be facilitated by the infrastructure”.
In June, Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia said the government had identified five companies for talks in a partnership for the construction of the Lapsset. The Kenya Ports Authority signed a $478.9 million (Sh48.5 billion) deal with China Roads and Bridge Corporation in August 2014 for the construction of the first three berths.