Which way, Lapsset, as Kenya scraps ‘redundant’ agency?

Mv Banyas 1 Lome vessel docked at Lamu Port Berth 1 in Kenya on October 15, 2022.

Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group

Dozens of projects meant to connect Kenya, South Sudan and Ethiopia have been thrown into uncertainty after the Kenyan government proposed the dissolution of the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia-Transport (Lapsset) Corridor Development Authority.

On Tuesday, Kenya’s Cabinet approved plans to end the operations of LCDA, which was mandated in 2013 to spearhead the corridor’s development as defined in Vision 2030, Kenya’s long-term development plan.

“The Cabinet has approved a proposal to dissolve nine corporations whose mandates can be performed under the ministry,” said a Cabinet dispatch.

Among the nine corporations is LCDA, which was deemed instrumental in promoting regional integration, a key objective for African nations striving to create a unified market and enhance economic interdependence among participating countries.

The authority was mandated to oversee the implementation of regional multimodal infrastructure programme encompassing transboundary transport project components linking Kenya with the neighbouring states such as Ethiopia and South Sudan.

According to a source within the authority, on Wednesday they received a communication asking the management to suspend all activities as they await further direction from the government.

“We have been asked to wait for further directions but as it is, the Ministry will have to take over and implement the projects along the corridor but it seems the projects might be reviewed,” the source said.

In the 11 years of its existence, three of 29 berths of Lamu port and the Garsen-Lamu highway were completed.

The LCDA was meant to ensure regional infrastructure components, which include interregional highways from Lamu-Garissa-Isiolo- Lowdwar- Nakodok and Juba in South Sudan and Isiolo to Moyale and Addis Ababa, and Lamu-Garsen were complete.

Other projects were inter-regional railway  lines from Lamu to Isiolo, Isiolo to Nakodok (Kenya/South Sudan border) and Juba, Isiolo to Moyale (Kenya/Ethiopia Border) and Addis Ababa, and Nairobi to Isiolo.

There was also to be a  crude oil pipeline from Lamu to Isiolo, Isiolo to Nakodok and Nakodok to Juba and a product oil pipeline from Lamu-Isiolo-Moyale  and Moyale to Addis Ababa.

The other Lapsset corridor components were Lamu Port at Manda Bay consisting of 29 deep sea berths, international airports at Lamu, Isiolo and Turkana, resort cities at Lamu, Isiolo and Turkana, merchant oil refinery at Lamu, High Grand Falls multipurpose dam and fibre optic cables and communication systems.

Lapsset programmes have faced inadequate funding but in August 2024, the $25 million project seemed to get a new lease of life after Kenya, Ethiopia and South Sudan pledged resources to put in place a regional coordination framework.

During the 4th Lapsset Ministerial Council Meeting in Lamu, the three partner states renewed their discussions on harmonisation of cross-border trade and investment mechanisms, towards regional economic integration.

The council resolved to develop a 10-year joint corridor strategic plan to galvanise internal and external resources.

The ministers committed to revitalise and prioritise the integrated development and management of the cross-border components of the Lapsset, particularly a standard aguge railway, road networks, fibre optic connectivity and associated commercial, industrial and logistics hubs.

In February 2024, as a result of increasing insecurity in the Red Sea and non-tariff barriers in the Djibouti port, Ethiopia intensified its quest to have an alternative corridor for its imports and exports, with Addis expressing its readiness to use the Lamu port.

Lapsset has been identified as one of the key drivers to regional integration through infrastructure, as it forms part of the envisioned Equatorial Land Bridge that traverses Lapsset to Douala in Cameroon.

This link across Central Africa would rival the Suez Canal, carrying oils, minerals and merchandise between the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic.