Construction of the first three berths at the new Lamu port is 20 per cent complete, the Lamu Port Southern Sudan- Ethiopia Transport Corridor Development Authority has said.The authority projects that the first berth will be operational by June 2018 while the other two will be ready by December 2020.
The construction involves reclamation of the sea which will place the berths more than 700 metres into the Indian Ocean, with the first three berths stretching 1.2 kilometres wide with a width of 750 metres.
“All these construction works are moving in harness and expect to complete the first birth by mid-2018. So the port is taking shape as we speak, it is a bee hive of construction work,” Lapsset authority director general Silvester Kasuku told the Star in an interview yesterday.
Treasury CS Henry Rotich in his 2017/18 March 30 budget speech allocated Lapsset Sh10 billion in the next financial year which commences on July 1. The project had also been allocated a similar amount in the current financial year ending June30.
The contractor, China Roads and Bridge Corporation, is also dredging the quayside, deepening the docking area for ships by 17.5 metres. The dredging begun on October 15.
“The course way is more or less completed. Dredging works are moving in harness at high speed. Reclamation activities for building of the port platform are proceeding very well,” Kasuku said.
The construction of the first three berths is being funded by the government, while the remaining 29 will be financed through public-private partnerships under the build-operate-transfer model.
Last month, the project received $1.9 million (Sh196.46 million) from the African Development Bank , to cater for advisory services and technical support in developing a feasible plan for the port.The funds are meant to package the project to investors. Kasuku said the project, which was commissioned on March 2, 2012 has already attracted the South African government which is willing to invest in additional three berths. It has a total of 32 berths. The South Africa government , through State Owned Company –Transnet, is mulling over putting up the berths at a cost of about Sh49 billion.Transnet is wholly owned by the government of South Africa and is the custodian of rail, ports and pipelines.
“They are at the phase of submission of their proposals and discussions with various government institutions,” Kasuku said, “We have at least 10 other multinationals from Europe, the US, Middle East and Asia who have also expressed interest so Lapsset is on the go.”