Page 4 - DMEA Week 20 2021

DMEA COMMENTARY DMEA

Lamu Port begins operations

Kenya is kicking off operations at its new port as it eyes a new role in East African trade.

AFRICA KENYA will begin operations this week at the said this week that the port is ready for major
largest deep-sea port in East Africa, which will shipping operations. “The new port has a huge
play an important role in facilitating an uptick potential for business since it sits right in the
WHAT: in regional trade and oil exports from the South middle of major shipping routes for global
Lamu Port comes into Lokichar basin. trade,” he told China’s Xinhua.
operation this week as The first ship docked at Lamu Port’s Berth The first vessel to visit the new port is
part of Kenya’s massive One on May 17, a few days ahead of start-up at Maersk’s Singapore-flagged Cap-Carmel, which
LAPSSET infrastructure the end point of the $25bn Lamu Port-South Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) said would be able
project. Sudan Ethiopia Transport Corridor (LAPS- to load and offload cargo without the use of har-
SET) system, which will improve connectivity bour cranes.
WHY: between the Kenyan interior and the Indian KPA’s Captain Geoffrey Namadoa said:
The facility is East Ocean. “According to manifest, we expect to handle 100
Africa’s largest deep- While a planned oil pipeline remains a long containers on the first day in Lamu Port, which
sea port and will seek way from completion, the opening of Lamu also will be used to test local road connectivity,
to attract transhipment marks a significant milestone towards the export which is already complete. Lamu Port is strate-
business ahead of the of Kenyan crude. gically geographically positioned and it will give
completion of a new road, competition to already developed ports such as
rail and pipeline network Launching Lamu Durban.”
linking it to Ethiopia and Lamu is being developed by China Commu- The Danish shipping giant’s MV Seago
South Sudan. nications Construction Co. (CCCC) in three Bremerhaven is also expected to call at Lamu
phases, the first of which consists of three berths during its first week of operations.
WHAT NEXT: where completion has reached 100%, 95% and Once complete, Lamu Port will have 32
An oil pipeline will 70% respectively, according to Kenya’s Treasury berths, offering the region’s highest rates of tran-
transport crude to the and National Planning Cabinet Secretary, Ukur shipment. The berths will each have a 400-metre
port from Kenya’s South Yatani. The first phase is expected to come in at quay and a depth of 17.5-18 metres, with the
Lokichar basin for a total cost of around $367mn, which is being berths covering 6 km of coastline.
onward export. funded by the state, with the remaining 29 antic- With the first three berths capable of han-
ipated to be funded, at least in part, by the private dling 1.2mn twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU)
sector. per year, the port will have an eventual capacity
The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) said of 20mn TEU when fully complete.
last week that it had conducted a dry run for In 2019, Salim’s predecessor at the KPA, Dr
cargo clearance in preparation for Maersk Daniel Manduku, said that the first berth would
Shipping. “be used as a multi- purpose berth and will be
Meanwhile, acting managing director of capable of handling any kind of vessels, espe-
Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) Rashid Salim cially the self-sustaining vessels.” He added:

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