Port Attracts Investors in Kenya

The construction of Kenya’s port Lamu seems closer than ever after the Government invited international tenders on Monday for the building of phase one of the new port.

The announcement of the tenders has renewed investors interest in the island.

The port to be constructed in the coastal town of Lamu, will have a transport corridor to link the port with Ethiopia and south Sudan as part of the Lamu Port-Southern Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (Lapsset) Corridor.

The Lappset project will comprise the Lamu Port and Manda Bay, an oil refinery at Lamu, a railway line to Juba which handles trains moving at 160 kph, oil pipelines to Southern Sudan and Ethiopia, three airports and three resort cities at Lamu, Isiolo and Lake Turkana shores.

A newspaper advertisement carried yesterday indicated that the first phase of the major infrastructural development will include construction of three berths to accommodate 100 000-dwt (deadweight tonnes) container ships, 30 000-dwt general cargo ships and 100 000-dwt bulk cargo carriers.

The port will have a total of 22 berths with a quay that will lie on 1,000 acres of land and is expected to make Kenya a transshipment hub due to its deep waters and ability to accommodate large vessels.

Investor Reactions
According to Mwenda Thuranira the Director of Myspace Properties, a real estate firm in Mombasa, the announcement of the tenders has spurred speculative buying of land in Lamu.

Thuranira says Lamu which has a high population of Britons is expected to attract more foreigners investing in holiday homes and luxury properties in anticipation for cruise ships tourism. Currently most tourist hotels in Manda Island charge 600 US dollars per night.

The price of land has appreciated and we expected a further rise after yesterday’s announcement. One acre of land previously sold for  1240 (US$), currently it is selling for 12 402 (US$),” says Thuranira

He says speculative buying will thrive based on the impact of Mombasa port to prices of land adjacent to it. For example land in Changamwe, which is adjacent to the Mombasa port, sells at 310 055 (US$) per acre.

Thuranira also speculates that real estate agents will flock to the island for prospects of a highly lucrative business.

Among the sectors expected to be positively influenced by the port construction include agriculture, tourism, real estate and manufacturing sectors.

The construction of access roads, railway sidings, warehouses and other buildings at Lamu’s Manda Bay is expected to further boost infrastructure.