The picturesque islands of Lamu, off Kenya’s coast are undergoing a transformation due to the Lamu Port and the South Sudan-Ethiopia transport Corridor LAPSSET projects.
Upon completion of the projects, Lamu will boast of 32 deep sea berths which are currently still in the initial phase.
The aim of undertaking the project is to connect the east African coast from Lamu port, with the West African coast at Douala port.
“Without finishing the piling works, the other works cannot be commenced,” said Wu Qinghua, Chief Engineer, Lamu Port Project.
The piles, hammered into the sea, form the support structures on which the berths will rest. 1,440 of them will be needed. The project has been facing enormous challenges owing to its scope and the fact that Lamu has some of the deepest natural harbors in the world.
“In this project we have two difficulties, one is the piling works. Another is the yard area compaction works. Now the piling works I think is going very well so I’m considering the compaction of the yard area,” said Wu Qinghua, Chief Engineer, Lamu Port Project.
The entire island is manmade, a fete achieved through dredging and land reclamation undertaken by this ship, the Tian Ji.
“The dredger is for dredging the basin and the channel and as the captain I am in charge of operating the dredger and checking its ongoing progress,” said Bai Fengqian, captain, Tian Ji.
The contractor on this project is the China Communications Construction Company, CCCC. The company has in its employment, 500 locals and about 200 Chinese. To the locals, this is a an opportunity to boost their welfare.
“There are big benefits as there are almost 700 people who have an opportunity to work. (Cover cut) at the end of the project I think there are people who will be able to improve their life standard. I worked on the standard gauge railway in the past for two years and there are things I would not have been able to accomplish if I hadn’t worked there,” said Raphael Mwazige, Site Engineer.
The project is about 25% complete with the contractor expecting to hand over the first berth next year and the third and final one in 2020.
The Lamu Port and Lamu-Southern Sudan-Ethiopia Transport Corridor is part of China’s belt and road initiative, which aims at reviving ancient land & sea trade routes that link Asia with the rest of the world.
