Lamu set for growth as projects take off

Opinion and Analysis

Manda Airstrip in Lamu. Building of Lamu port and power plant will boost county’s economy. PHOTO | FILE 

By GEORGE WACHIRA

In Summary

• Mega infrastructure plans to change fortunes of tourist destination hit by insecurity.

The other week I took the newly launched Jambojet flight to Lamu to enjoy a few days vacation. The smooth flight via Malindi landed on a new and longer runway on Manda Island.

Lamu can, therefore, now handle much larger aircraft. A new and beautifully finished airport terminal bearing the name Manda Airport was quite welcoming .

The last time I was in Lamu was in 2010 in a team of consultants undertaking the Lamu Port South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) corridor project feasibility.

This time round one could notice an evident shrinkage in number of foreign tourists. This is explained by an unfortunate bout of insecurity in Lamu last year and subsequent negative travel advisories by a number of foreign countries.

As I sat outside a seafront hotel watching speedboats and dhows doing their routines on the Lamu Channel and donkeys dutifully doing their chores on the street in front, I found myself engaged in a useful conversation with a Lamu resident who introduced himself as Said Abubakar (not his real name).

Lamu is a friendly and closely knit society where everyone seems to know what is happening around the county.

To trigger conversation, I intimated that the seafront is now looking very beautiful with modern solar street lighting and “cabro” blocks pavement.

Said pointed out that the seafront upgrade was done recently by the county government. As he opened up, he enumerated all the big developments that are soon to happen in Lamu.

He talked about grid power from Mombasa which has now reached the Lamu mainland, but is yet to be stepped down for distribution. The island is still using diesel thermal generators. The new grid power shall make a huge developmental impact on the county.

He said soon Lamu would be generating power. The AMU Power Company, he added, would early next year commence construction of a 1,000-megawatt power plant fed with imported coal.

He was excited about the new jobs for the youths of Lamu, but lamented that most of these jobs may end up being taken by people from outside the county, unless Lamu quickly trains its own.

Yes, I supported his view and remarked that this is a similar issue that has been encountered in recent years in the new oilfields of Turkana.

I told him that the county could learn and build on good experiences from Turkana while avoiding known pitfalls.

I later checked some facts about AMU Power and established that it will likely be the largest single power plant not only in Kenya but also in the region.

Large capacity power plants usually deliver lower unit capital and operating costs due to economies of scale.