The construction of the first three terminals of the new Lamu port is now 40 per cent complete.
LAPSSET project director Sylvestre Kasuku said the first terminal will be completed by June 2018.
Kasuku expressed confidence that all three terminals will have been constrcuted by end of 2020.
"The three terminals alone will cost Sh48 billion. The entire LAPSSET Corridor project is worth Sh.2.5 trillion," he said.
He addressed the media on the Infrastructure master plan atMwana Arafa Hotel in Lamu on Tuesday.
The
Sh866 million
LAPSSET headquarters and the port police station have been constructed.
Kasuku
said they are currently pursuing the development of appropriate road infrastructure connections that will link the port to the rest of the LAPSSET corridor. The connections will also be to
other parts of the country and party nations.
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Construction of terminals for the LAPSSET project, October 10, 2017. /CHETI PRAXIDES
About Sh15 billion has been spent so far on design works, general port construction and the establishment of auxiliary facilities.
"The port construction project is taking shape very well. So far we have had to work within the confines of the plan," said the director.
"We have received a lot of support from the Lamu government, the people and other agencies of the national government. We are all working together to deliver."
Kasuku noted the project has many
economic and industrial benefits for Lamu, Kenya and East Africa region.
"With LAPSSET fully in place, Kenya will be open to global trade and industrial markets. That will be extremely good for our economy and Lamu as the host country," he said.
"As an authority, we are putting our best efforts to ensuring the project comes to fruition and ends on schedule. We are talking the year 2020."
The plan includes a 32-berth port; transportation hubs for rail, highway and international airports in Lamu, Isiolo and Lodwar; an oil pipeline from South Sudan, Uganda and Ethiopia to Lamu Port; an oil refinery and three resort cities in Isiolo, Lamu and Turkana.
Lapsset project director general Sylvester Kasuku addresses the press on October 10, 2017. /CHETI PRAXIDES
The government expects the project to have an impact on the livelihoods of 166 million people in Kenya, Ethiopia, South Sudan and other East African countries.
With the intervening discovery of economically viable oil deposits in Lokichar, Turkana, along the corridor, the proposed refinery and oil-based infrastructure will automatically refine oil mined from Turkana.
Reports indicate the Lamu basin has a potential of generating up to 3.7 billion barrels of oil
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