Talks start over Sh273bn Lamu port

Kenya and Qatar have opened talks that could lead to the building of a Sh273 billion port in Lamu.

News of the deal emerged after President Kibaki held successful talks with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalif Al Thani, during the President’s three-day official tour to the Middle East country.

The Emir said Qatar was keen on the Lamu project as it intends to increase its international investments.

If developed, the port will be expected to handle imports for Ethiopia — a land locked country with a population of 80 million — and Southern Sudan with a population of 12 million.

Southern Sudan requires huge imports for its ongoing reconstruction after decades of civil war with the North. Lamu’s proximity to Addis Ababa would also necessitate the building of a railway link between the two towns.

Importers in Northern Kenyan towns like Garissa, Wajir, Mandera and Moyale would also use the port instead of Mombasa, which currently handles all imports including those for regional countries like Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Should it be successfully completed, the Lamu port would help decongest Mombasa port, which experts indicate cannot be developed further as it had reached its full potential.

Mombasa port has been on the spot recently due to pile-up of imported goods and delays in offloading cargo which have been blamed for raising the cost of doing business, especially for importers.

Government directed the port to operate round-the-clock to ease congestion.

Priority project

President Kibaki has in the past said the Lamu port was a priority project.

Qatar and Kenya will also open negotiations that would lead to making funds available for the construction of the Garsen-Lamu Road.

Kenya has also offered Qatar a partnership in sovereign bond through which Kenya hopes to raise billions of shillings for infrastructure development.

On the other hand, Qatar is seeking to lease 100,000 acres of farmland for horticulture at the Coast. This is the equivalent of 20km by 20km of land.

A study on the viability of a port in Lamu has been going on, a lead advisor to the inter-ministerial committee on the second transport corridor, Dr Mutule Kilonzo, said recently.

Lamu has many advantages as a potential alternative port to serve the northern sub-region. Its deep waters make it ideal for fast construction of a harbour.

While there will be some dredging needed, Dr Mutule said, this will not be on as large a scale as happened with other ports in the region.

Full capacity

Dr Mutule said the port of Mombasa was already developed to nearly its full capacity. It was designed to handle 20 million tons of cargo per year.

However, with the entry of Southern Sudan into the regional economy, unrestricted demand of cargo is likely to increase to 32 million tons per year.

Although Sudan has several alternative ports, they are not as strategically located and Lamu would still have an advantage over them, Dr Mutule said.

The study recommends that Lamu be made a free port to be connected to the proposed Free Port at Dongo Kundu, Mombasa, by a railway line and a road.

Once the free port is established, Lamu Town will become a major hub for tourists and business people. In this regard, it is proposed that an airport also be developed to serve the expected influx of tourists and business people.