CHINA TARGETS KENYAN PORTS TO EXPAND GLOBAL TRADE INFLUENCE
Posted on : Wednesday, 14th October 2015
China is targeting Kenya’s ports of Mombasa and Lamu in expanding its global influence through trade and connectivity. The Port of Mombasa is the busiest in East Africa and serves Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Port of Lamu, whose construction is underway, is part of the larger transportation corridor between Kenya, Ethiopia, South Sudan and Uganda. When completed, the corridor will be named LAPSET and is expected to facilitate the transport of crude oil and other goods.
The Chinese government lists the two ports as important to its One Belt One Road (OBOR) Initiative, an ambitious program meant to create “a community of common destiny” from among 63 countries around the world with about 4.5 billion people.
China unveiled the “One Belt, One Road” initiative in 2013 and President Xi Jingping projected an investment of nearly $900 billion. Yet there are challenges to be surmounted. Though launched in 2013, the Initiative has received lukewarm interests from countries initially labelled as important to it.
“It is an important initiative that we could tap into. But first, we will have to assess it, domesticate it, and hopefully make our people see its value,” Mr Michael Kinyanjui, Kenya’s ambassador to Beijing said of OBOR. “We have to talk with our partners to unleash the spirit of competitiveness. We have to consider the benefits as well as the interests of different countries,” he added.
The project includes a network of railways, highways, oil and gas pipelines, power grids, Internet networks, maritime and other infrastructure links across Asia including trade with Greece, Russia and Oman, which will help increase China’s connections to Europe and Africa as well.
Earlier this year, President Jinping said he hoped China’s annual trade with the countries involved with the “One Belt, One Road” initiative to surpass more than $2.5 trillion during the next decade.
