Kenya needs ₹143bn to set up resort cities

Kenya needs at least 143 billion to set up the Lamu, Isiolo and Lake Turkana resort cities, which are among the seven key infrastructure components of the Lamu Port South Sudan Ethiopia Transport Lapsset Corridor project.

According to the Lapsset Corridor Development AuthorityLapsset Corridor Development Authority LCDA, Lamu resort city will be the largest cost of 114 billion, followed by Isiolo city at 24 billion.

The resort city will have a Special Economic Zone in Lamu that will host heavy, light, and medium industries.

The special economic zone area will provide warehousing, transportation logistics, shipbuilding technology, and refinery, amongst others.

The land needed for this development is about 2,000 acres with a power demand of approximately 60 megawatts.

Lapsset director general Stephen Ikua said that their completion will open the Northern Kenya corridor to trade, tourism and industrialisation. Once established, the cities will improve the delivery of public services, including security as well as trade.

The establishment of such key cities in Northern Kenya will transform the region into an industrial, technical, logistics, investment, as well as a tourism hub. Market access to goods and livestock produced from the region will be eased, said Mr Ikua.

Lapsset is the largest and most ambitious infrastructure project in Eastern Africa, bringing together Kenya, Ethiopia and South Sudan.

The mega project consists of seven major projects starting with a new 32 berth port at Lamu Kenya Interregional Highways from Lamu to Isiolo, Isiolo to Juba South Sudan Isiolo to Addis Ababa Ethiopia and Lamu to Garsen Kenya and a crude oil pipeline from Lamu to Isiolo, Isiolo to Addis Ababa and Product Oil Pipeline from Lamu to Isiolo, Isiolo to Isiolo and Product Oil Pipeline from Lamu to