The Lamu Port will be ready to begin operations beginning next month (February), Transport and Infrastructure Cabinet Secretary James Macharia has announced.

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As a result, President Uhuru Kenyatta is expected in the county in mid-February to launch the port, whose construction is yet to be concluded, before it kicks off operations.

Macharia on Tuesday noted that works have resumed to complete the construction of the remaining two berths and roads.

The construction had stalled following the terror attack on an army base some 10 kilometres from the port last week.

“We are addressing the security challenges to facilitate the completion of the project," he said during a regional ministerial meeting on Lamu Port South Sudan Ethiopia Transport (LAPPSET) project in Mombasa.

The meeting was attended by participants from the involved countries, as well as South Africa, who promised to make the project attractive to investors.

Ethiopian Ambassador to Kenya Meles Alem pledging his country's commitment to the project.

“Ethiopia is not backtracking on Lapsset. Our commitment to this project is not hinged on diplomatic consideration, it is about the economic benefit of our people,” he stated.

South Sudan Transport Minister David Hassan said that his country is committed to building a road linking the country to Cameroon.

African Union Infrastructure Development Envoy Raila Odinga hailed the project as the key to realizing the East-West-Transcontinental Beltway.