The national government has decided to utilize an alternative route to transport over 60,000 tonnes of fertilizer earmarked for Ethiopia after floods damaged part of the Lamu-Witu-Garsen road. Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen announced that efforts would be made to facilitate the evacuation of the consignment through this alternative route. Murkomen made these remarks during an inspection of the damaged road, stating that repair works would commence promptly.
Over the past week, transportation along the Garsen-Witu-Lamu highway has been disrupted due to floods washing away approximately two kilometers of the road. Last Saturday, the Kenya National Highway Authority (KeNHA) closed the road due to heavy rainfall upstream, causing the Tana River to overflow. Consequently, three sections of the road between Gamba police station and Lango La Simba have become impassable.
Coinciding with the road closure, the Ethiopian government received the initial shipment of 60,000 tonnes of fertilizer imported from Morocco through the Port of Lamu. The closure of the Lamu-Witu-Garsen road has posed logistical challenges, prompting the national government to explore alternative transportation routes for the fertilizer consignment destined for Ethiopia.
“We will do all in our power to facilitate the shipment of goods, including the 60,000-tonne fertiliser cargo destined for Ethiopia, despite a damaged section of the Lamu-Witu-Garsen road due to floods,” Murkomen said on Wednesday.
At least 2,400 trucks are needed to transport the fertiliser imported through the Lamu port.
“The commodity we have is very important and we have to deliver it on time in the next 10 days. The success in delivery of this cargo is very important for our use of this corridor, which we are operating with speed to utilise,” he said.
During a meeting with stakeholders and Lamu county leadership, Transport CS Murkomen emphasized the importance of expediting the completion of the 256km Lamu-Ijara road by February 2025 as part of the long-term solution to transportation challenges. Firaol Tafa, deputy director general of the Ethiopia Maritime Authority, expressed appreciation for the Kenyan government’s efforts and commitment.
The meeting was attended by Lamu Governor Issa Timamy, Kenha director general Kung’u Ndung’u, Lappset director Stephen Ikua, KPA managing director Captain William Ruto, and security teams. Meanwhile, the MV Abbay II, an Ethiopian-flagged ship, began unloading 60,000 tonnes of bulk fertilizer at the Lamu port for southern Ethiopia.
Captain Ruto highlighted that this shipment marks the largest bulk fertilizer consignment to dock at the Port of Lamu, underscoring years of planning and hard work to position the port as a regional logistics hub. Ethiopia’s Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Girma Amante, also emphasized the significance of the Lapsset corridor for Africa’s ambition to establish a continental free trade area, facilitating the movement of goods, services, and people across borders.
“Ethiopia is one of the fastest-growing economies in Africa, given the size of its population, as the second-most populous country in Africa. Therefore, it is a necessity to diversify our access to the seaports,” Amante said.
In the last three years, Ethiopia has achieved agricultural Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of six per cent annually, and consequently, there was an increase in the volume of imports of agricultural inputs products.
“To take fertiliser as an example, last season we imported 1.3 million tonnes of fertiliser, whereas this season it has increased to 1.94 million tonnes, which is an increase of 50 per cent,” he said.
Amante said the docking of the Ethiopian vessel in Lamu port carrying fertiliser for the southern part of Ethiopia will have a significant impact to timely delivery to their farmers.
“As this is the first test operation, we have to closely support the process and document the lessons to improve and optimise our upcoming operations. We have to do our level best to make the logistics operation of the corridor feasible and cost-effective,” he said.
Lappset Corridor Development Authority director general Stephen Ikua said the importation of Ethiopian cargo through the Lamu port is a realisation of the dream intended by the governments of Kenya, Ethiopia and South Sudan.
“This is a time that we are seeing the realisation of the dream of what the three governments intended to do; prosperity and development within the region. We have been bedevilled by a number of problems that can only be settled if we have these kinds of projects. They did it over 10 years ago and it has taken us a decade to see the realisation,” he said.
Ikua assured the Ethiopian delegation they would work round the clock to ensure the cargo is delivered on time.
“We have no excuse, apart from now working on the corridor and the other facilities that require to be done so we have a smooth movement,” he said.
“And as we say, this is a test and we want to go down on a checklist and get all the issues that will be coming about and we will be able to address them.”
