LAMU, Kenya — April 9, 2025
Kenya’s aspirations to transform its northern corridor into a pivotal regional trade route have encountered significant setbacks due to ongoing militant activity by the al-Shabaab extremist group. The $25 billion Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) project, a flagship infrastructure initiative designed to reshape trade and economic activity across East Africa, has been stalled by insecurity, funding challenges, and underutilization.
For decades, Kenyan planners envisioned a modern transport corridor linking the newly constructed deep-water port of Lamu on the Indian Ocean to the landlocked nations of Ethiopia and South Sudan. The initiative, launched officially in 2013 but originally conceived in 1975, aimed to include a network of roads, railways, an oil pipeline, three international airports, and the development of new resort cities along the route. The project was expected to revitalize the underdeveloped northern region of Kenya and diversify the country’s maritime infrastructure beyond Mombasa.
However, the reality on the ground paints a different picture. Despite major investment, only three of the planned 23 berths at Lamu Port have been completed. The port’s expansive container yard remains largely vacant, and shipping activity is minimal. Between the port’s official inauguration in 2021 and the end of 2024, only two international cargo ships docked at Lamu. Some vessels offloaded cargo onto smaller ships that sailed further south to Mombasa—Kenya’s older but more functional port.
The dominant export activity currently taking place at Lamu consists of livestock shipments to Gulf countries. Thousands of cattle, Merino sheep, and Dorper sheep are marched to the port to be loaded onto ships bound for Oman. Industrial trade, which the corridor was meant to facilitate, has yet to materialize in any meaningful way.
“There’s no proper road, there’s no railway, there’s no pipeline,” said Yusuf Hassan Abdi, a member of Kenya’s parliamentary security committee. “So this is a white elephant.”
A critical factor contributing to the project’s stagnation is the deteriorating security environment in the region. Al-Shabaab, a Somalia-based jihadist group affiliated with al-Qaeda, has executed repeated attacks on road construction crews, government personnel, and security forces. One of the most volatile stretches lies between Lamu and Garissa, a 150-mile corridor frequently targeted by militants. These attacks have undermined construction efforts and shaken investor confidence.
Al-Shabaab continues to operate with relative impunity in the porous border regions, particularly around the Boni Forest, which straddles the Kenya-Somalia border. The forest serves as a safe haven for militants who carry out cross-border attacks and disappear into the dense terrain. The group’s capacity for violence was demonstrated starkly in 2020, when it launched an assault on a joint U.S.-Kenyan military base near Lamu, resulting in the deaths of three Americans.
Beyond the physical insecurity, al-Shabaab’s ideological influence has found resonance in some communities along the Kenyan coast. Elements of the Bajuni ethnic group, residing in coastal villages, have reportedly offered logistical and moral support to the group, further complicating efforts to establish long-term peace in the region.
Kenya’s military, in coordination with regional and international partners including the United States, has deployed forces to counter the insurgency. Despite these efforts, the threat persists and has significantly delayed the establishment of key components of the LAPSSET corridor.
Salim Bunu, the regional manager of the LAPSSET project in Lamu, acknowledged the challenges but remains optimistic about the corridor’s future role in transforming northern Kenya. “We believe this project will be a game-changer for the people of Kenya,” he stated. However, he also noted the vulnerability of Kenya’s current infrastructure system. “As of now, we just have one corridor, and we just have one major port,” he said. “If any floods or anything happens, that means there is no evacuation route for goods and people.”
Despite such high hopes, progress has been slow, and expectations remain unmet. Funding constraints, combined with the constant threat of violent extremism, have left the port and its surrounding infrastructure underutilized. Meanwhile, Mombasa continues to bear the bulk of Kenya’s maritime trade, underscoring the urgent need for a viable alternative.
The Lamu Port project was meant to usher in a new era of trade and connectivity for East Africa. But without sustainable security and stronger political commitment, the corridor risks remaining little more than an unfinished promise.