The recently launched Lamu Port and Lamu Southern Sudan-Ethiopia Transport Corridor (Lapsset) project will be Kenya’s second largest infrastructure project and perhaps the most significant transport corridor after the Mombasa/Uganda transport corridor.
This is a god sent economic opening for Meru County as both the railway line and high way to Juba and Addis Ababa, and the oil pipeline to Juba will pass through Meru County into Isiolo and beyond. In addition, one of the three proposed airports and resort cities under these Vision 2030 flagship initiatives will be located in neighbouring Isiolo town. Note that much of the land occupied by the new airport is in Meru County.
Meru County government must be strategic to exploit this great potential. Geographical location and climatic conditions favour Meru. Of all the counties through which the corridor passes, Meru is by far the most fertile agriculturally. The cash and subsistence crops grown in Meru will have a larger market and will be easier to transport to the coast, northern Kenya and to Sudan and Ethiopia. The airport, which has been designed for international standards, will make shipping of miraa, flower and horticultural products quicker and more profitable. Already there are several roads linking Meru and Isiolo airport. What is now needed is one linking miraa rich Igembe to Isiolo to make transportation of this product more cost efficient. There are additional possibilities in poetry, dairy and fish farming, food processing and packaging, warehousing and logistics. A modern abattoir for the processing of meat for export is to be built.
The presence of some of Kenya’s best national parks (Mt. Kenya, Samburu and Meru) and the Lewa Conservancy do present almost unlimited opportunities for tourism related businesses while land owners in the surrounding areas will benefit from emerging real estate developments, government offices and commercial centres for the provision of trade, entertainment, educational, conferencing and sports’ services.
Youth will reap from the many employment opportunities arising out of planned infrastructure development projects and emerging agricultural, construction and other industries.
To benefit to the fullest, the Meru County government should plan early on how to use available land and other resources and educate the public on how best to exploit farming, trade and industry related opportunities. Farmer education should be accompanied by the setting up of relevant value addition industries and the introduction of crop varieties for which there are markets outside Meru and Kenya. Targeted investments in the vocational and academic education should prepare youth for employment opportunities that will come out of the new developments along the entire corridor, such as hospitality, sports, cultural tourism and modern home development.
Finally, the County will have to invest in security of locals and foreigners, road safety, law enforcement and in the provision of relevant infrastructure to spur development and make potential investors feel welcome. Recurring conflicts among communities, especially for livestock and pasture can be stopped by encouraging youth to take advantage of economic activities which require less land, especially human capital development. Meru and neighbouring county governments need to appreciate the importance of mutually beneficial good neighbourliness, without which none of the counties will maximise the benefits coming with Lapsset.
The writer is MP for Tigania West and Assistant Minister Higher Education, Science and Technology
