China Communications units win US$484 million bid to build 3 Kenyan berths
A SENIOR Kenyan official has disclosed that a Chinese consortium of companies led by China Communications Construction Company has won a KES41 billion (US$484 million) contract to build the first three berths at the new mega port in Lamu-east Africa's biggest infrastructure project.
The Kenyan government is spear heading a US$25.5 billion project to link landlocked South Sudan and Ethiopia to the Indian Ocean port of Lamu by constructing a major highway, a railway and an oil pipeline, which will take many years.
Kenya says the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia (LAPSSET) corridor project will add two to three per cent to Kenya's economic growth but critics call it a vanity project, arguing the money would be better spent upgrading Kenya's existing infrastructure.
Said LAPSSET CEO Sylvester Kasuku: "We called for contractors and the best was a consortium headed by China Communications," pointing out that Lamu port will have 32 berths when the whole project is complete in 2030.
"We are doing the seed investment by constructing the first three berths just to break the ground and put government commitment and investment and provide incentives for private sector investors to come on board," Mr Kasuku said to Reuters news agency.
Through its flagship international arm, China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), China Communications in 2011 signed a $66.7 million deal to expand the number of berths at Mombasa port, east Africa's largest port. China Communications last year also signed a $2.66 billion deal to update Kenya's railways, announcing plans to construct a stand-gauged 479 kilometres line between Mombasa to Nairobi.
A SENIOR Kenyan official has disclosed that a Chinese consortium of companies led by China Communications Construction Company has won a KES41 billion (US$484 million) contract to build the first three berths at the new mega port in Lamu-east Africa's biggest infrastructure project.
The Kenyan government is spear heading a US$25.5 billion project to link landlocked South Sudan and Ethiopia to the Indian Ocean port of Lamu by constructing a major highway, a railway and an oil pipeline, which will take many years.
Kenya says the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia (LAPSSET) corridor project will add two to three per cent to Kenya's economic growth but critics call it a vanity project, arguing the money would be better spent upgrading Kenya's existing infrastructure.
Said LAPSSET CEO Sylvester Kasuku: "We called for contractors and the best was a consortium headed by China Communications," pointing out that Lamu port will have 32 berths when the whole project is complete in 2030.
"We are doing the seed investment by constructing the first three berths just to break the ground and put government commitment and investment and provide incentives for private sector investors to come on board," Mr Kasuku said to Reuters news agency.
Through its flagship international arm, China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), China Communications in 2011 signed a $66.7 million deal to expand the number of berths at Mombasa port, east Africa's largest port. China Communications last year also signed a $2.66 billion deal to update Kenya's railways, announcing plans to construct a stand-gauged 479 kilometres line between Mombasa to Nairobi.