Africa-Press – South-Sudan. A delegation of South Sudan officials visited Kenya to learn about the country’s agency in charge of implementing the regional transport corridor, LAPSSET, in order to set up a similar body in Juba to spearhead the implementation of the projects.
The visit of the officials to Kenya last week came as South Sudan tries to recommit to implement the various transport infrastructure projects under the Lamu Port -South Sudan Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET).
The LAPSSET Transport Corridor promises to connect South Sudan and Ethiopia to the international market through the seaport Port of Lamu located southeast of Kenya as an alternative to Mombasa seaport. However, Juba lags behind in implementing the projects since the groundbreaking of the LAPSSET Corridor Project in 2012.
The two partner states of Kenya and Ethiopia have gone ahead of South Sudan in implementing some of the project components including highways and parts of the alternative Port of Lamu since works commenced on the project ten years ago.
Engineer Lado Tangun Tombe, Ministry of Transport’s Director-General for Road Transport and Safety and leader of the delegation said learning about the structures of the Kenyan Lapsset Corridor Development Authority (LCDA) will help the government expedite the implementation of the LAPSSET projects on its side.
“This will us start implementing the LAPSSET projects on our side…as you can see Kenya and Ethiopia have gone ahead of us in implementing the projects,” said Tombe in Nairobi last week during a four-day trip organized and facilitated by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).
Stephen Ikua, the head of LAPSSET Corridor Development Authority (LCDA), said the Lamu transport and trading corridor will enhance bilateral trade and investment between South Sudan and its southern neighbor, Kenya through increased interactions.
“A number of your people have benefited from the Kenya system which is not in South Sudan. The people of South Sudan will be happy to invest in Kenya and people in Kenya will be happy to invest in South Sudan,” he urged the South Sudan government to ensure peace and security prevailed in order to realize development and attract foreign investors.
For More News And Analysis About South-Sudan Follow Africa-Press
