The move came a day after President Uhuru Kenyatta ordered the ministry and the National Land Commission to repossess half a million acres in Lamu irregularly allocated to 22 entities.
The order to start payments on uncontested parcels came as a Sh42 billion contract was signed Friday with the China Communication Construction Company.
The Lands ministry has been directed to start paying out Sh4.5 billion set aside to compensate land owners affected by the Lamu port project.
The move came a day after President Uhuru Kenyatta ordered the ministry and the National Land Commission to repossess half a million acres in Lamu irregularly allocated to 22 entities.
These 2011-2012 allocations were part of a ‘land-grab’ aimed at benefiting from such compensation or from developments around the port project.
The order to start payments on uncontested parcels came as a Sh42 billion contract was signed Friday with the China Communication Construction Company.
The deal was signed by the Kenya Ports Authority at State House Nairobi in the presence of President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto and Lamu County leaders.
Construction work on the first three berths of the Lamu port project is expected to begin in September.
At completion, the new port will have 29 berths. The project is part of the Lamu Port South Sudan Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) corridor.
The signing also came a day after Presidents Kenyatta, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and Salva Kiir of South Sudan, and Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalgne met at State House, Nairobi, to explore joint financing options for the transport corridor project.
President Kenyatta said he expected private sector participation in building the remaining 26 berths and other components of the project.
“The signing of this contract… is a major milestone in delivering the LAPSSET corridor programme as well as achieving Vision 2030,” he said.
“LAPSSET projects encompass other infrastructure components and facilities, including roads, railway, airports, oil refineries, oil pipeline, fibre optic cable and high grand falls. All these components are intended to be implemented as a package that will result in the development of an integrated transport and economic corridor”.
Uhuru directed the Transport and Infrastructure ministry to finalise the inter-governmental agreement for the development and operation of the transport corridor with South Sudan.
He expressed optimism that the LAPSSET corridor will lead to economic prosperity of Northern and Eastern parts of the country.
“In light of Kenya’s recent discoveries of mineral resources such as oil, coal and gas, the need for the Lamu Port and the corridor cannot be gainsaid. Our country must develop the transport and infrastructure capacity (needed) to harness this mineral wealth.”
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