Posted on June 15, 2017
Dredging work on Lamu first berth is on course and the project is scheduled for completion on March 2018.
According to Sylvester Kasuku, the Director General to the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia- Transport (Lapsset) Corridor Development Authority, the dredging works that kicked off in October 2016 is in good progress whereby more than 20% of the project has already been completed. The project is being executed by the China Communication Construction Company.
During a press briefing, Sylvester Kasuku noted that, China Communication Construction Company is expected to complete the construction of the first three berths by the year 2020 at a cost of US$463.2m.
The project is expected to unlock lantent economic potential covering about 70% of Kenya’s land space located in the larger northern parts of Kenya.
Kenya is co-financing the construction of the first three berths with the rest of the project cost is expected to be financed by the private sectors under the Public Private sector framework.
So far Kenya has spent US$ 115.9mfor the construction of Lamu Port with an addition of US$96.6m allocated for the 2017/2018 financial year. Additionally, South Africa has already signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop the first three berths in the Lamu Port.
Currently, South Africa is in the phase of submission of proposals and are undertaking the discussions with relevant government agencies before commencing construction works.
The plan is to construct a total of 21 berths at the proposed port of Lamu by 2030, compared to 18 berths in Mombasa, where ageing infrastructure hinders the port’s ability to handle huge ships and raising the amount of cargo.
On completion, Lamu port will be nearly ten times larger than the existing port of Mombasa which currently accommodates 1.2 million Twenty Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) annually and has a maximum capacity of 2.5 million TEUs.
The first three berths of Lamu Port are expected to be operational in 2020. The berths will begin by handling 1.2 million TEUs and when fully operational the berths will handle 20 million TEUs.
Additionally, the berths will also handle crude oil carriers with dead weight tonnage of up to 20,000 tonnes and a capacity of two million barrels of crude.
The port construction is being executed at Manda Bay, which juts out towards the islands of Pate , Manda and Lamu. The location is suitable for its size and deep waters capable of accommodating large vessels.
Source: CR
