FEATURE

BUMPY RIDE FOR MEGA LAMU PORT

Residents and watchdogs have moved to court to stop the construction until an environment impact assessment is done and those affected compensated By Aamera Jiwaji

orty years ago, the proposal to make Lamu Port into a world-class logistical hub, equivalent to Dubai or Singapore, was ambitious enough. Today, with a required investment of Sh2 trillion over 20 years, it is still considered grand. With the potential to impact a population of 166 million people and more than double the GDP of Kenya, the LAPSSET (Lamu Port South Sudan Ethiopia Transport) project proposes to construct a railway, highway, oil pipeline, and three resort cities with international airports. But the critical issues of land ownership and environmental impact, which the backers of the project appear to have overlooked, threaten to slow it down. Residents and environmentalists have moved to court to stop the construction until an environment impact assessment is done and compensation residents for the land completed. Kenya relies on the Northern Corridor for its transport needs but the rail and road network proposed by LAPSSET will link Lamu to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia and Juba in South Sudan, passing through the northern parts of the country that are | Nairobi Business Monthly MAY

resource-rich but unexploited. As Kenyas second international port with 32 berths, the Lamu port promises to ease some of the challenges faced by the port of Mombasa, which is the anchor for the Northern Corridor. In the last year, the Mombasa port has grown 3.98% to handle 5.59 million tonnes, according to the Kenya Ports Authority, partly due to demand from South Sudan. The Lamu port has its special market, that is Ethiopia and South Sudan, but it will complement the activities of the Mombasa port, said Kenya Ports Authority managing director Gichiri Ndua. It will be a strategic port but it will oer an alternative to the Mombasa port in case of an emergency. Users of the Mombasa port are condent that a second international port with more berths, deeper water and greater container storage capacities, will help to ease congestion. While the Kenya Shippers Council looks forward to increased volumes of trade and the enhanced identity of Kenya as a transshipment hub, Kenyas Road Transport Association expects it to decongest the Mombasa port and lessen delays. More ships means better terms with shipping

AS KENYAS SECOND INTERNATIONAL PORT WITH 32 BERTHS, THE LAMU PORT PROMISES TO EASE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES FACED BY THE PORT OF MOMBASA, WHICH IS THE ANCHOR FOR THE NORTHERN CORRIDOR

FEATURE

LAPSSET: By the numbers

Sh1.5tn

What it will cost to build the LAPSSET project over a 20 year period.

$3.95bn
The cost of constructing an oil pipeline that will run from Lamu to South Sudan.

$970m
lines, said chairman of the Road Transport Association Ahmed Mwinyi Shimbwa, suggesting that the increased capacity would mean more competition, improved performance and lower prices. The Lamu Port will allow Kenyan companies to serve the needs of landlocked countries that currently go through the port of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania or Maputo in Mozambique. The impact of the construction of a second corridor is very positive. As all our economies are growing (in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, DRC, Burundi, South Sudan, Ethiopia), we need to improve. And at the same time our infrastructure needs to improve including port facilities, railways, roads, inland waterways, pipelines and others. Without that, well face congestion everywhere. Its also always good to have alternatives and create internal competition, said Ms Aloys Rusagara Bayiro, the head of transport policy and planning at the Transit Transport Coordination Authority for the Northern Corridor. While a feasibility study conducted in 2011 by the Japan Port Consultants proposes new regulatory bodies to oversee railway, highway and oil pipeline, one has not been recommended for the Lamu Port. It is likely, therefore, that Lamu Port will be under KPA. KPA manages all the sea ports in Lamu, Malindi, Mombasa and so many other smaller ports, said Mr Ndua. The government will construct the infrastructure and then hand it over to the authority. KPA may be the landlord or we may manage the port. We dont know yet. The Lamu Port will also be strategically positioned as a trans-shipment hub to handle crude and rened oil and oil products from the new nation of South Sudan. It will become the shorter, and most economically viable route to the sea for South Sudan, and for Ethiopia which seeks an alternative to Djibouti. Ninety-ve percent of the container trac leaving the Mombasa Port is by road, and because of | Nairobi Business Monthly MAY At one point, a billionaire former Rift Valley MP swaggered into a startled group of members of non-tari bottlenecks along the corridor, the turnaround time for these trucks is below average. This shows the cost of relying on the Northern Corridor network, according to Mr Ndua. Building a modern railway from Lamu to Sudan, the Central Africa Republic and Cameroon, and a second line which links to Uganda, Rwanda, DRC and Congo Brazzaville with a branch into Ethiopia, will substantially ease the burden on the roads and increase the movement of bulk cargo. The land bridge will transport cargo from East to West Africa in 12 hours and will oer impressive cost cutting measures. For instance, it will reduce inter-regional freight transport costs from nearly 45% to 15%, sustain trains hauling a minimum of 4,000 tonnes and meet transport demands that are projected to be in excess of 30 million tonnes by 2030, according to the feasibility report. Stakeholders such as the Kenya Shippers Council are enthusiastic. The Federation of the East African Association of the Freight Forwarders Association (FEAFFA) is also hopeful that these initiatives will reduce turnaround times and enhance trade in the region. This is an opportunity for the region to expand its market beyond the traditional East Africa by bringing Ethiopia and Southern Sudan closer. We are already providing services in this region although with enormous challenges mainly due to infrastructure. [We] needed this development yesterday, said John Bosco Rusagara, President of FEAFFA. Current train speeds in Kenya reach a maximum of 25km per hour, and so the speed of 160km for passenger trains and 120 km for freight trains is considered one of the hallmarks of LAPSSET. The project proposes the creation of resort cities in Lamu, Isiolo and Lokichoggio with their own Cost of developing the resort city of Lamu, one of the major towns expected to emerge.

97,900
Capacity in barrels per day of the product oil pipeline.

4,000

The weight in tonnes that the modern railway will be able to haul.

international airports. Each resort will oer tourist facilities including water sports, healthcare, amusement parks and archaeological sites. Lamu has been dubbed the Collaboration City; Isiolo, the meeting point of the highway and the railway, will be the Junction City; and Lake Turkana, with its hot springs, will be the Healing City. Due to the magnitude of the projects, the government plans to employ a mix of public and private nancing. LAPSSET has already received attention from international nanciers, regional bodies and Kenyas development partners including the African Union, Comesa, East African Community, African Development Bank and SADC, and it was among the 100 transformational projects identied for presentation at the fth Annual Infrastructure Leadership Forum in London in February of this year. Various governments have indicated an interest in funding it, such as China and Qatar. The size and impact of the project have, however, raised concerns among conservationists who have taken their grievances to court over allegations that there was no community involvement, and that Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) were not conducted.

LAPSSET PROJECT

The LAPSSET feasibility study

Project
Timelines Volume/ capacity

Railway Network
3 years 2020 import - 3 million tonnes export 4.7 million tonnes 2030 import 5.1 million tonnes export 9.3 million tonnes US$ 7,100 million Government, multi and bi-lateral donors, beneciary countries LAPSSET Corridor Authority LAPSSET Regional Railway Authority

Highway
5 years. Can be shortened to 3 years.

Pipeline
3 years

Construction costs Funding Institutional and legal framework

Crude oil pipeline 417,600bbl/day Product oil pipeline - 97,900 bbl/day. US$ 1,396 million Government, multi and bi-lateral donors, revenues from toll charges LAPSSET Corridor Authority

US$ 3,950 Million Private Project Crude Oil Pipeline Company Products Oil Pipeline

Resort Cities
Strategic role Location Eco villages Cost Airport

Lamu
Collaboration City Mokowe Kipini, Bawaya, Manda Island, Pate Island, Kiwaiyu Island US$ 970 million New airport at Mkunumbi Trac: 1.2 million and 2,000 tons of cargo Cost: US$ 188 million Timeline: 3 years Institution: Kenya Airports Authority

Isiolo
Junction City Isiolo Kipsing Gap, Archers Post, Kura Mawe US$ 200 million Existing airport to be renovated. Future development of a new airport to the north of the city

Lake Turkana
Healing City Lodwar city Kalokoi, Eliye Springs Loiyangalani US$ 42 million Existing airport to be renovated

THE PETITION CLAIMS CONSTRUCTION OF THE PORT WILL CONTRAVENE VARIOUS CONVENTIONS THAT KENYA IS A SIGNATORY TO, SUCH AS THE PROTECTION OF MARINE AND COASTAL ENVIRONMENT, AND CULTURE AND HERITAGE
The petition, which seeks an injunction against the commencement of construction asserts: The Project will have devastating consequences for the delicate marine ecosystem of the Lamu region The port, oil renery and oil pipelines, together with the rail and road transport hub that is envisaged, will transform the area from an unspoilt and pristine marine conserve to a large industrial zone. The environmental expert appointed to conduct the EIA on behalf of the National Environment Management Authority, Hezekiah Adala, said: The

public outcry is genuine since a full EIA study is yet to be done. Initial indications are that any signicant impact will be mitigated or remediated. This will be conrmed during the study. It is however important to clarify that the project is at Manda Bay away from UNESCO world cultural heritage that is demarcated at Lamu Island. He added that if the EIA nds that aspects of the Lamu port are not environmentally feasible, it would include mitigation measures for key impacts. The petition claims construction of the port will contravene various conventions that Kenya is a signatory to, such as the protection of marine and coastal environment, and culture and heritage. The advocates representing Lamu residents are guarded about the possible outcome of the case. Although it is a valid petition touching on environmental, economic and socio-cultural issues, it falls under Public Interest Litigation and as such is an under-litigated eld in developing countries. In addition, the symbolic nature of the project is at an advanced stage since the Heads of State have come together and committed themselves to the project, said Saad Migdad of Abdulrahman, Saad & Associates. The proposed seaport has also

induced a tremendous amount of anxiety and fear in relation to ownership of land. The legal petition states, Individuals with access to the relevant organs of the state are engaged in a buying frenzy of prime land in the project area resulting in an increase of land speculators in the area which is perpetuating the highly sensitive nature of land tenure insecurity in the area. Residents fear that this project represents a permanent alienation and dispossession (theft) of their land and it threatens the nal destruction of their unique history, heritage and culture, according to Ridwan Laher, Chief Research Specialist and Head of the Sustainable Development unit at the Africa Institute of South Africa. Campaigns to press the government to institute a fair land adjudication process have not garnered a positive response and the land issue remains unresolved. The question this time is not whether LAPSSET will be actualised or whether the momentum will fade away as it did 40 years ago. It is about whether the project will become one that all Kenyans can be proud of or whether it will be yet another example of an African government riding roughshod over the needs of its people. MAY Nairobi Business Monthly |