Lamu Port has partnered with the United Arab Emirates to absorb thousands of youth along the Lapsset Corridor into the UAE job market.
Lapsset director general Stephen Ikua said the move is part of an exchange programme between the two countries to boost performance of the new port.
He said at least 1,000 youth are targeted under the programme.
Ikua said the engagement will be in form of internships and employment in the UAE market.
He said this will enable them to acquire the requisite skills necessary for the operation and management of investments belonging to the Lapsset Corridor.
“On one part, this will ensure business cooperation between the two sides while also enabling repatriation of the skills acquired by the beneficiaries back to Kenya. This will be in handy since the port is in operation,” Ikua said in Kililana area of Lamu West.
Ikua recently returned from the UAE and Qatar where he met potential investors in the facility.
Lamu Port general manager Vincent Sidai said marketing strategies for the port have been heightened following the operationalisation of key Lapsset Corridor components.
Some of the inaugurated Lapsset components include the first berth of the Sh310 billion Lamu Port in Kililana, Lamu West.
The port has continued to register steady success and immense response from investors, having hosted 13 ships between May last year to date.
Other completed components include the Isiolo Airport, the Moyale One-Stop Border Post and the Isiolo-Moyale-Hawassa highway.
Sidai, who accompanied Ikua on the UAE and Qatar trips, said they had held talks with various investors including the Qatar Investment Authority which intends to invest heavily in renewable energy, tourism and port-related businesses along the Lapsset corridor.
“We were there for weeks and got to meet many investors including the Qatar Investment Authority who have sent officials to inspect the port for possible areas of investment," he said.
Sidai said they were engaging Kenyan embassies to help bring on board investors in the petroleum sector.
“We have established international companies like Wiseneft, Golden Oil, and many others who have shown interest in setting up operations in Lamu Port for shipping, storage and handling petroleum products destined for the hinterland markets,” he said.
Sidai said potential investor companies have conducted independent preliminary studies which found Lamu port to be ideal as the Mombasa Port is congested.
The Qatar Delegation which paid a visit to the Lamu Port site on Thursday was led by Mwani Qatar chief executive officer Abdulla Mohamed Al-Khanji, executive VP commercial Hussain Ahmed Al Mageef, and Group Technical and Projects Development director QTERMINALS Ahmed Suleyman.
“The general progress of this port is impressive and we are looking forward to working with the Kenyan government to ensure this investment is successful,” Al-Khanji said.
