Indonesia to export crude palm oil to Kenya via Lamu port

Indonesia plans to use the Lamu port to export crude palm oil to Kenya. 

Indonesia Ambassador Mohamad Hery Saripudin said on Sunday Indonesia wants to promote its shipment activities with Kenya.

Speaking when he met Lapsset and KPA officials at the port in Kililana, the envoy expressed satisfaction with the master plan and general development of the port.

He also pledged to encourage the Indonesian private sector to consider the port as an alternative shipment for crude palm oil to Kenya. 

Indonesia and Kenya enjoy a good trade relationship spanning decades.

Indonesia imports tea, coffee, and leather products from Kenya while Kenya, on the other hand, imports crude palm oil, paper, and textile from Indonesia.

“We are here to know the grand design of Lamu Port and seek possible cooperation with Indonesia. We also want to find ways to promote partnership between stakeholders in Indonesia and the newly inaugurated Lamu Port.

"I am sure that Indonesian businesspersons will be happy using this facility, especially if the tariff of service is competitive,” he said.

Indonesia is a major supplier of crude palm oil to Kenya.

It exported 450 metric tonnes of the commodity last year alone. Thus far, the oil has only been transported via the Mombasa port.

“Since the capacity of Lamu Port is planned to be significantly larger than Mombasa, we intend to use it as an alternative shipment port of the crude palm oil. The distribution will not be limited to Kenya but also to the entire Eastern Africa region since the port will supply goods to South Sudan and Ethiopia,” Ambassador Saripudin said.

The Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia-Transport Corridor project regional manager Salim Bunu said investors will be treated on a first-come, first-served basis.

“We have a designated area for light, medium, and heavy industry in this area. Indonesian government and investors are welcomed to take advantage of this industrial area. Interested investors are required to submit a concept note to the CEO of Lapsset Corridor Development Authority,” Bunu said.

The Sh.2.5 trillion Lamu port was commissioned by President Uhuru Kenyatta on May 20 in an event that saw the first cargo ship christened MV CAP Carmel dock at the facility’s first berth.

The President also announced that the second and third berths will be ready by October.

Upon completion, the port will boast 32 berths in total, 29 of which will be financed by the private sector, making it the largest deep-water port in sub-Saharan Africa.