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Africa Horn |
China Inversting BIllions in Kenya |
2015-04-13 |
After four years of negotiations with landowners, construction of the first phase of the $3.1-billion berths project in Kenya's coastal town of Lamu is back on track. The new berths will be part of a $24.5-billion, seven-component Lamu Port South Sudan Ethiopian Transport (Lapsset) corridor project, the largest ever in eastern Africa. Investing money in Kenya? Who would that be? The Lapsset includes a total of 880 kilometers of two-lane highways linking Lamu, Juba and Addis Ababa; a 2,240-km-long oil pipeline from the Lamu port to Juba, with a connection to Addis Ababa and resort cities at Lokichoggio, Turkana and Isiolo (all in Kenya); a 120,000-barrel-per-day-capacity oil refinery at Lamu; a 1,719-km standard-gauge railway line, connecting Lamu and Juba; and a 500- to 700-MW hydroelectric powerplant along the corridor and the envisaged Lamu metropolis. Seriously? Lamu metropolis? The Kenya Ports Authority last August signed a contract with China Communications Construction Co. for the construction of the three berths at a cost of $484 million. The company's international arm, China Roads and Bridge Corp., currently is constructing the $3.6-billion, 609-km standard-gauge railway project connecting Kenya's port city of Mombasa to the capital of Nairobi with 90% financing from China Exim Bank. Where is China getting all this cash? U.S. payments for interest on the National Debt? Really? |
Posted by:Bobby |
#1 Should be interesting to watch. And if it's all the same to you, that's exactly what I'll do. |
Posted by: Besoeker 2015-04-13 13:42 |