No, the Lapsset corridor project has not stalled

The MV T Jian dredging vessel that is working on the construction of Lamu port, in this picture taken on 11 December 2016.The material dug underneath is pumped far away to create land from inside the ocean. PHOTO | LABAN WALLOGA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

Has the Lapsset corridor project stalled?

“….I want to remind Kenyans that these projects, these guys didn’t come up with them. There is another one we came up with, which they haven’t started... For example, Lapsset. I remember we designed it.  We did everything and called the Ethiopian Prime Minister, the President of South Sudan. They joined Kibaki and I, and we started that project. It’s no longer going on…. ”

-         NASA flagbearer Raila Odinga during a Radio Interview on Radio Maisha  on July 4

Lapsset, or the Lamu Port Southern Sudan-Ethiopia Transport Corridor Project, was launched in March 2012. On March 1, Kenya and Ethiopia signed an agreement for the construction of a standard gauge railway from Lamu Port to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The next day, Kenya launched the construction of Lamu Port.  Present for the launch with President Mwai Kibaki were President Salva Kiir of South Sudan and the late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia. Prime Minister Raila Odinga was also present.

Mr Odinga’s concern is not misplaced. Earlier this year, Parliament’s Budget and Appropriations Committee recommended that no other projects should be commenced except externally funded projects and those under Vision 2030. The Standard Gauge Railway from Mombasa to Nairobi was commissioned after many of the Lapsset projects.

However, there have been signs of progress on the project, with construction  continuing  In the budget speech on March 30, 2017, Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich allocated Sh10 billion for the Lapsset project.

RESORT CITY IN ISIOLO

A Lapsset project progress report dated July 2016 shows that of 15 road sections, two are complete, while another two are more than 90 per cent complete. The rest are undergoing design and tendering. Preliminary designs for the standard gauge railway from Lamu to Ethiopia were complete.

Currently, construction on three berths at the Lamu Port is underway. The first berth is expected to be completed in June 2018, with the other two being completed by 2020.  Both the Lamu Manda Airport and Isiolo Airport have been completed.

In February this year, construction of the High Grand Falls Dam on the Tana River was green-lighted after accusations of corruption held it back. The dam costing Sh1.5 billion, will be built over six years.  

In June this year, the Lapsset Authority sought 10,000 acres of land at Kula Mawe from the Isiolo County government for the construction of a resort city in Isiolo.

In March this year, the government of South Africa, through the Development Bank of Southern Africa, agreed to finance construction of the Lamu Garissa Isiolo Road at a cost of Sh60 billion. The Merille Marsabit Moyale Highway has also been completed.

A number of projects under Lapsset are progressing and it cannot be said the project is not going on.