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

  • Melbourne’s new $20.4 billion ring road
    July 17, 2025
    Work for Melbourne’s new $20.4 billion ring road will have to be ahead of schedule.
  • The Australian Government has set a massive budget for infrastructure investment, including major spending on roads
    May 17, 2013
    The Australian Government is announcing plans to invest A$24 billion (US$23.73 billion) in transport infrastructure across the country. This will form the second part of the country’s five-year Nation Building Plan (NBP). The investment will be used to improve roads, railways and ports between 2014/2015 and 2018/2019. One stage of the NBP will involve spending A$525 million to upgrade and widen the M80 Ring Road in New South Wales (NSW) in a project that will include installing the latest traffic management
  • Rebuilt road to connect airport to Mombasa
    June 16, 2014
    The final funding has been found for a new dual carriageway connection linking the city of Mombasa to its airport. The Transport Ministry has revealed that US$15 million is being provided for the work by Trademark East Africa, on top of the $24 million being provided by the Kenyan Government. The tender process for the project is now commencing and the size of the deal involved is being revealed shortly. The upgraded road will link Moi International Airport with Changamwe, which lies on the western outskirt
  • A key section of highway is now open in Romania
    July 26, 2012
    In Romania the northern section of the bypass around the city of Constanta is open to traffic. The bypass forms part of the Pan-European Road Corridor IV and work on this section was financed by the European Bank for reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The southern stretch of the 23km bypass was completed in 2011. Now it is complete, the bypass will carry heavy port traffic away from Constanta. It will also provide a free-flowing route for tourist traffic from Romanian capital Bucharest and the north of