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

  • Africa road safety event in Morocco
    July 25, 2018
    A new road safety conference is being planned in Morocco. This event is intended to help address poor road safety across Africa as a whole, in a bid to cut the shockingly high casualty rate. The event is being organised by the Moroccan National Committee for Prevention of Road Accidents. The African continent has a high risk of death for road crashes for vulnerable users. Pedestrians and cyclists represent 43% of Africa’s road victims. On a global level, vulnerable road users account for an average of 26
  • IRF Geneva to work on the EU funded project “Safer Africa”
    January 30, 2017
    The Safer Africa project - funded under the EU Horizon2020 Programme - aims at establishing a Dialogue Platform between Africa and Europe focused on road safety and traffic management issues. It will represent a high-level body with the main objective of providing recommendations to update the African Road Safety Action Plan and the African Road Safety Charter, as well as fostering the adoption of specific initiatives, properly funded. The involvement of development banks will ensure the identification
  • SaferAfrica Project discusses Data Collection in Africa
    July 5, 2018
    Members of the consortium of the EU-funded SaferAfrica project met in Athens on 24-27 April 2018 to discuss advancements and to present first results to the management board. IRF (Geneva) is a member of the consortium and shared its experience on data collection during the dedicated workshop held jointly with the management board. Representatives from the African Development Bank, UNECA, SSATP/World Bank, FIA, WHO, IRTAD, RU and PIARC were also present to address the issue of data in Africa and the specific
  • Tanzania-Uganda road development funding source
    November 20, 2017
    Preparation work for the improvement of the road connecting Uganda with Tanzania is being provided by the African Development Bank (AfDB). Funding worth US$1.5 million is being given by the AfDB to pay for the preparation work. The new road will connect Masaka in Uganda with Kagera in Tanzania and forms part of a programme to improve connections across East Africa. The road project is being carried out in three separate sections. One stretch measures 133km and runs from Kumunazi, through Bugene to Kasulo in