Kenya is seeking stronger regional support for the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport Corridor as the government moves to position the country as the Horn of Africa's leading trade, logistics and industrial hub.
This is on the back of the planned construction of a $17 billion (Sh2.2 trillion) oil refinery by Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote, where Lamu has been chosen as the project site.
Trade and Investment CS Lee Kinyanjui said Kenya is pushing for deeper regional economic cooperation through improved transport infrastructure, seamless border operations and stronger regional value chains to unlock intra-African trade and attract large-scale investments.
Speaking after meeting the technical team of the Horn of Africa Initiative which is in Nairobi, Kinyanjui said the region must shift its focus from merely constructing infrastructure to ensuring roads, ports, railways and logistics systems directly support trade, industrialisation and job creation.
"Trade is one of the strongest foundations for regional peace, stability and shared prosperity. Kenya is committed to deepening economic cooperation with our neighbours in the Horn of Africa, including Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, Djibouti and Eritrea," Kinyanjui said.
The Nairobi meeting comes ahead of the Horn of Africa Trade Ministers' Meeting scheduled for Ethiopia between September 2 and 3, with Kenya keen to use the platform to front inftrastracture development support.
Kinyanjui said the meeting should deliver practical measures that remove non-tariff barriers, improve border efficiency and strengthen regional value chains to accelerate economic integration.
Friederike Hemker, head of development cooperation for Sudan, emphasised that the Horn of Africa region needs strategic investments in transport infrastructure, trade facilitation, and efficient logistics corridors to unlock its economic potential.
The renewed push comes as Dangote Group confirmed plans to build a 700,000-barrel-per-day oil refinery in Lamu to serve the wider East African market, significantly reducing the region's dependence on imported refined petroleum products.
The refinery, one of the largest industrial investments proposed in East Africa, is expected to complement the strategic location of Lamu Port, which Kenya is positioning as a major transshipment and logistics hub for cargo destined for the Horn of Africa and the wider continent.
Kinyanjui said investor interest in Lamu demonstrates growing confidence in Kenya's infrastructure investments and its strategic position along emerging global supply chains.
"The growing investor interest in Lamu, including plans by the Dangote Group to establish an oil refinery, demonstrates the region's immense economic potential," he said.
He noted that evolving global trade routes and geopolitical disruptions in traditional shipping lanes have created an opportunity for Kenya to reposition Lamu as a preferred redistribution centre for cargo arriving from Asia and the Middle East.
"We see Lamu becoming a major point of container redistribution for the continent, where large vessels can dock and cargo redistributed across Africa through efficient regional transport networks," Kinyanjui said.
The Lamu Port forms the centre piece of the Lapsset Corridor, Africa's largest integrated infrastructure project designed to connect Kenya with Ethiopia, South Sudan and eventually other neighbouring countries.
The ambitious project comprises a deep-sea port at Manda Bay, a standard gauge railway linking Lamu to Juba and Addis Ababa, highways, oil pipelines, an oil refinery, three international airports and three resort cities.
The planned investment is estimated at about $22 billion (Sh2.8 trillion) and is projected to contribute between two and three per cent annually to the country's economy during implementation.
Long-term estimates indicate it could raise GDP growth by between eight and 10 per cent.
The government has already completed and operationalised the first three berths at Lamu Port while construction of supporting road infrastructure continues.
Beyond petroleum, Kenya is also positioning itself as a regional processing hub for critical minerals as part of a broader strategy to increase value addition and reduce exports of raw materials, that have historically denied African countries maximum returns from resources.
Kinyanjui said the government wants minerals extracted across the region to be processed locally before export, creating manufacturing jobs while increasing export earnings.
He added that improving logistics and reducing transport costs remain central to enhancing the competitiveness of Kenyan products in regional and international markets.
Kenya is also working with neighbouring countries to streamline border operations by reducing delays for trucks transporting goods across Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan and Ethiopia.
Despite the launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area, intra-African trade remains at only about 17 per cent, significantly below levels recorded in Europe and Asia.
Kinyanjui said removing foundational bottlenecks, including inefficient border procedures, inadequate transport infrastructure and high logistics costs, will be critical to unlocking trade growth across the continent.
