A dilemma has emerged on when to launch the Kisumu Port and open it for operations, hours after President Uhuru Kenyatta made a sudden stop at the refurbished facility.
The President on Tuesday conducted an impromptu tour of the port which has been refurbished at Sh3 million, two months after its scheduled launch, which flopped.
It emerges that Uhuru raised a concern about the delayed launch of the port, which the Kenya Ports Authority insists is ready to begin operations.
However, experts have raised concerns over the sustainability of the same, with some of the jobs, like dredging and complete removal of hyacinth yet to take place.
Obora Okoth, Head of Research and Resource and Mobilization in Lake Victoria faulted the hurry to launch the port, saying that the weed will soon be chocking the port itself.
“In about two to three months, the weed will be back, there is a need to address the menace once and for all and not carrying out one component in isolation. This may hamper the full utilisation of the port,” she said.
Also, yet to be done is the construction of 63.1 kilometre-long canals into the deep waters, resuscitation of the Kisumu-Nakuru meter gauge railway and improving the port to enable it to hold 4,000 containers.
However, so far, only the port jas been worked on.
Once ready, the launch is expected to be presided over by President Kenyatta and other regional Heads of States.