Kenya glory might be destroyed by the oil port plans

According to the news that was cast by CNN in March this year revealed that the Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki had formally launched the new Lamu Port project which is a huge infrastructure project and will probably consume over $20 billion. Lamu was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO and the affair was attended by Salva Kiir from South Sudanese and Ethiopian counterparts Meles Zenawi on a stretch of leveled mangroves, flattened especially for the launch.

The new port is part of a larger project which is best known as Lamu Port–South Sudan–Ethiopia Transport Corridor (LAPSSET), a pearl in the crown of the Kenyan government’s Vision 2030, an ambitious program to propel Kenya’s economy, like those witnessed in Asia. The project will include oil refinery, pipelines from the South Sudan, road and air as well as a huge port for oil tankers and also plan on improving on some tourist resort cities along side everything.

It is unfortunate that there is little work that has been done so far and yet President Kibaki asked the finance minister to release funds so many months ago to run the construction activities. Rumor has it that the government lacks enough finances to run the project even if the local media ascribes China as the main supporters because they are interested in South Sudan’s oil.

Lamu is among the World Heritage site approved by UNESCO and being a beautiful port, it attract so many tourist who are interested in the Swahili culture and architecture as well as the region’s rich history connected to Indian Ocean trade-world, connecting China, India and the Arab Peninsula from earlier days of 9th century. However, no one is sure that things will remain the same after the project starts.