Lamu Island, located close to Kenya’s northern coast, is set to become the location for Kenya’s first coal plant, one of many such projects that are part of China’s exported coal industry. Favoured for its remote location and coal shipment accessibility, Lamu is a prominent locus of the ‘The Kenya Vision 2030’ plan that “aims to transform Kenya into a newly industrializing, middle-income country providing a high quality of life to all its citizens by 2030 in a clean and secure environment”.
Infrastructural development is thought to be an important factor in the facilitation of trade, regional and economic integration and interconnectivity between countries all of which is in line with Kenya’s 2030 plan. The Lamu Port, South Sudan, Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) project, with major Chinese financial backing, will include amongst other things, the LAPSSET Corridor consisting of a port and coal plant in Lamu County.
