The ground breaking of the Mega LAPSSET project is scheduled to take place on Friday 2nd March. The grand event which is expected to attract a massive audience including head of states will be held at Lamu. The project will be launched by the president Mwai Kibaki and some of those expected to attend are South Sudan’s President Silva Kiir and Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. The ground breaking will give way for the construction of various components starting with three berths whose design is complete already.
The whole project is considered as financially viable and applicable for PPP investment. The three countries-Kenya South Sudan and Ethiopia will cost share the project.
The project however is not without opposition from the community. Residents fear that the project will interfere with the area’s fresh water sources. They argue that the new resort facilities coming up in Shela will interfere with the sand dunes which are the only membrane between sea water and the sea water.
The government of Kenya however assures the residents that it will do everything to save Lamu’s famous cultural treasure from annihilation including the sand dunes. The prime Minister had earlier this year visited the area and assured the residents that the project was environmentally friendly since a feasibility study had been taken earlier and proved so.
The whole project will see to the building of 32 berth modern port at Lamu, an oil refinery, standard gauge railway line to Juba in Southern Sudan with a branch line to Ethiopia, a 1300km oil pipeline linking Lamu with the oil fields of Southern Sudan, a 1720km super highway connecting to Ethiopia and South Sudan and within Kenya alongside the LAPSSET Corridor the construction of three international airports in Lamu, Isiolo and Lokichogio and upgrading them to become resort cities. When complete the Lamu port will be the largest port on the African continent.
Was there any EIA done and were the reports made public to assure the residents that all is well?
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