The Kenyan government has opened up bidding on a US$5.3bn project to construct three additional berths at Lamu port on the northern coast, according to the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA)
KPA managing director, Gichiri Ndua, announced that the Kenyan government invited interest from both local and international companies.
The Lamu port development is part of the Kenya government’s US$23bn transport corridor project.
Under this initiative, development of Lamu port will act as a route in which to cut the republic’s reliance upon its Mombasa port, open-up its relatively unexploited north, as well as boost links and economic relations with its northern neighbours, Ethiopia and South Sudan.
Long-term plans for the port include extending it to 20 berths, making it home to an oil refinery with a 100,000 barrel per day capacity, as well as the endpoint to both more than 1,700km of railway and almost 1,300km of oil pipeline.
It was revealed last week that construction of a US$300mn second terminal at Mombasa had begun, following the discovery that container traffic through Kenya’s Mombasa port had undergone a 24 per cent growth during the first six months of 2012, with 10.7mn tonnes of cargo passing through.
