Skip to main content

East Africa’s massive infrastructure development programme

A massive programme of infrastructure development is planned for East Africa that will help develop transport links and boost economic development. The projects will be implemented in Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan and Uganda. Roads and highways will be built and upgraded while new port facilities will be built. Also included in the programme will be an oil pipeline, rail links and fibre-optic cable installation. In all the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) Corridor project for East Africa wi
September 23, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
A massive programme of infrastructure development is planned for East Africa that will help develop transport links and boost economic development. The projects will be implemented in Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan and Uganda. Roads and highways will be built and upgraded while new port facilities will be built. Also included in the programme will be an oil pipeline, rail links and fibre-optic cable installation. In all the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) Corridor project for East Africa will cost in the region of US$24.7 billion.

The plans also call for the transport corridor to stretch right across the continent, connecting to the West Africa. The transport links would run to the cities of Douala-Lagos-Cotonou-Abidjan Corridor and given Nigeria’s economic strength amongst the West African nations in particular, this would be of enormous economic benefit to Africa as a whole.

The programme has received both regional and international support and was discussed in detail at the 2015 African Union general assembly.

One of the projects involves developing port facilities at Lamu in Kenya, with the work being carried out by the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC). This $479 million project will relieve the strain that Kenya’s port of Mombasa currently faces in that its existing facilities are running close to capacity.

Related Content

  • Mabey Hire supports the Whorlton Bridge
    June 10, 2025

    Whorlton Bridge in England’s County Durham has had to be closed to traffic while a major programme of works is carried out. Every component is to be removed, refurbished and replaced.

    To facilitate the works, a bespoke catenary system has been installed, with Mabey Hire’s adaptable and modular propping equipment used to construct the temporary structure.

  • Airport expansion for the Maldives assisted by Trimble
    September 6, 2019
    An airport redevelopment and expansion project in the Maldives has been assisted by the use of technology from Trimble. In 2016 the Chinese firm Beijing Urban Construction Group (BUCG) was awarded the contract for the expansion of the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport on Hulhule island in the Maldives, which is part of the Indian Ocean island group. The massive US$440 million expansion and land reclamation work is intended to boost capacity at the Maldives Airport. BUCG has utilised Trimble field solu
  • UK contractors group CECA says infrastructure workload dips
    November 11, 2015
    Britain’s Civil Engineering Contractors Association has warned of declining infrastructure workloads despite indications that the UK is climbing slowly out of the global economic downturn. The slump in infrastructure workloads is a “surprise”, according to a statement by the CECA. The CECA survey of companies that build and maintain the UK’s vital transport and power networks also comes just as the government launched the National Infrastructure Commission to oversee more than €140 billion of spending o
  • Australia responds to infrastructure funding challenge
    July 13, 2012
    The Global Financial Crisis (GFC) has drastically changed the way governments and the private sector is prepared to procure vital infrastructure projects, says Philip Davies Governments have responded to the GFC by focusing on long term investment in transport infrastructure and shorter term stimulus packages to kick-start economies. As these projects proceed, the focus will shift to maintaining and achieving maximum benefits from assets and future infrastructure funding. The Public Private Partnership (PP