Kenya, Ethiopia Ink Deal to Fast Track LAPSSET Corridor Project

Kenya and Ethiopia have agreed to develop the Lamu Port South Sudan Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) Corridor Programme.

The project, once completed, will connect the country to Ethiopia and South Sudan.

Transport CS Kipchumba Murkomen on Friday said the project’s long-term goal involves creating a land bridge between the East and West Coast of Africa.

“I apprised the Ethiopian delegation of President William Ruto’s commitment, as the current champion of the LAPSSET project under the AU Presidential Infrastructure Championship Initiative, to prioritise the development of the Corridor, full port equipment, the operationalization of the first three berths of the Lamu Port and the development of Lamu Special Economic Zone along the Corridor,” he said.

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“The President also plans to fast-track the upgrading of the Lamu-Garissa-Isiolo road of the LAPSSET Highway to Bitumen standard which will see a completely tarmacked road link the Port of Lamu to Ethiopia. The upgrading of the Lamu-Ijara-Garissa to Isiolo is ongoing.”

Further, the two neighbouring countries inked a deal to connect the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) with Ethiopia.

Murkomen, who made the announcement after holding bilateral talks with his Ethiopian counterpart, Alemu Sime, said the SGR would extend from Lamu to Moyale via Isiolo to Addis Ababa.

“We further agreed to establish a Bilateral Steering Committee comprising officials from Kenya and Ethiopia to fast-track the development of the LAPSSET Corridor and its supporting infrastructure,” Murkomen said.