The Government of Kenya for the first time has been welcomed into the Presidential Infrastructure Champion Initiative (PICI) with the LAPSETT infrastructure project at a technical meeting, co-hosted by Egypt’s Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation and the NEPAD Agency last week in Cairo.

The US$24.5 Billion LAPSSET Corridor Programme encompasses seven components including three airports, three resort cities, 32 berths at Kenya's Lamu Port, a railway line, crude oil pipeline, oil refineries, and highways interlinking Kenya, Ethiopia, South Sudan and eventually Uganda.

Initially eight projects were identified to be championed by the seven selected Heads of State and Government of Algeria, Republic of Congo, Egypt, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and South Africa. Most of these projects were endorsed at the 16th AU Assembly in January 2011 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, while others, such as the LAPSSET Corridor Project, later joined the PICI family, thus, making the total number of projects nine championed by eight African Heads of State and Government. 

Representing NEPAD Agency CEO Dr Ibrahim Mayaki, Dr John Tambi (below), PICI Coordinator at NEPAD, recognised the high level of political commitment in the implementation of all PICI projects which span from Transport, Energy, Water and Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Dr Tambi highlighted the implementation of the optic fibre interconnection in the five East African Community (EAC) countries and one network connection between Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. “This has lowered the cost of communication and has increased intra-Africa trade between these countries,” he said. He added that the construction of the Missing Link of the Trans-Saharan Highway in November 2014 scheduled to be completed in 2016/17 will provide seamless road transportation from Algiers, Algeria to Lagos, Nigeria, a distance of over 5,000 km.

Egypt’s Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Dr Hossam Mohamed Moghazy, thanked South Africa and the role of the NEPAD Agency in facilitating the implementation of these projects. He welcomed Kenya and recognised the immensity of the LAPSSET Project. Dr Moghazy highlighted the construction of the Navigational Line between Lake Victoria and the Mediterranean Sea, with Egypt as the project sponsor. Enhancement of trade will be a direct positive consequence of this project, with a total distance of about 5,000 km, Dr Moghazy said.

The comprehensive PICI project status report prepared by the NEPAD Agency will be presented by South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma, who is the chair of PICI, at the NEPAD Heads of State Summit in Sandton, South Africa, next week.

The technical meeting brought together all country focal points including Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Senegal and South Africa and the new member to the PICI family, Kenya.  Other members of the technical Task Team were also present namely the African Union Commission (AUC), UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and African Development Bank (Afdb).