East Africa Economic Report

  Over the years, th is publication has  remained optimistic regarding  economic and infrastructure   development Lamu Port in Kenya: From concept to reality in East Africa. You  would be forgiven if you say I bucked the trend.  We were optimistic that promises will turn into reality . We broke the ground with incisive reports on infrastructure projects in the region , many of which were at design or early implementation stages. Contrary to journalistic cynical instinct, we remained optimistic even when the odds appeared to weigh against us. In the process, we gained insights not readily available in publications of this type.  Time has always been both my enemy and ally.I allow time to prove  me wrong or right. Looking back 10=15 years ago, time has not proven us wrong. Time to take stock of the progress of  progress in the region. W hen this publication was born in 2012, China was beginning to make inroads into Africa and it faced...

LAPSSET Corridor Eight years ago, this publication predicted that Lamu will become a major city in Kenya. Something of a Qatar of East Africa. This prediction was grounded on several factors to wit: the 32-berth Lamu Port; the then proposed 120,000 BPD refinery; LAPSSET; the proposed power generation plants to generate 1150 MW; a  Crude  Oil Pipeline from Kenya’s oil fields in  Marsabit, and possibly South Sudan. Also See    https://eaers.blogspot.com/2018/06/lamu-gunning-to-be-energy-hub-in-kenya.html We said that these projects will  change Lamu’s  ecosystem. But we never anticipated the Magnitude of the change that came eight years later. We did not imagine, in our wildest dreams, of a US$17 billion  Petrochemical Plant processing 700,000 bpd. Now that Lamu has been chosen to host the plant, the second largest such  plant in Africa, we update our prediction because the changed ecosystem extends beyond Lamu County. Then  new complex c...

The Equator bridge: Looking doable   The East Africa Petrochemicals project is serious. The groundbreaking ceremony is this week, just three months after it was announced. The US$17 billion, project, driven by Africa’s richest Man, Nigeria’s Aliko Dangote, is historic and a record breaker.   Karuma dam: First Act of defiance against the West It is the apex of the continuing narrative of Africa rising, and it has landed with a bang! Few investors elsewhere will match that record, Not the Chinese, not the West. Only African billionaires will  approximate that record.  We are witnessing Africa’s economic emancipation in real time!   And Kenya, will become the nexus  of massive investments, it appears, because money follows money. The location of the Plant, in Lamu County, is also the head of the massive( $25 billion) LAPPSET corridor. LAPSSET, for Lamu Port, South Sudan Ethiopia corridor is a multi modal transport corridor incorporating a Sea Port,  High ...