The National Land Commission chairman Gershom Otachi has assured residents of Ijara constituency in Garissa County that the government will fully compensate for land on which the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia-Transport (LAPSSET) corridor project will pass through.
Speaking during a public forum at Bodhia Sub County, Otachi said that NLC is working closely with both Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) and Kenya Pipeline Company to establish exactly where the roads and pipelines will pass so that they can compensate the landowners.
“Once we know where the project will be passing through, we will collaborate with other agencies to offer compensation by following the set procedures to know who will be paid and at which rates,” he said.
LAPSSET Chairman Maina Kiondo urged the residents to be patient with the government, noting that the LAPSSET corridor will bring many benefits to them in the long term.
“This is currently the largest project in the country. There will be two pipelines for crude oil to Addis Ababa, a Railway line and Fibre cable lines. We are also going to build cities and airports in Lamu, Isiolo and Turkana,” Kiondo said.
“This will create sites of tourist attraction and open cross border businesses with Ethiopia and Sudan,” he added.
Area MP Sophia Abdi said that the project will open opportunities in the Northern Kenya region which has been marginalised for a long time.
Sophia noted that issues of land compensation, job opportunities, corporate social responsibility and environmental impact assessment all needed to be put into consideration in the implementation of the projects.
She appreciated President Uhuru Kenyatta’s commitment to the project and the May 2022 deadline he gave to open up the Northern Frontier Region as an economic growth corridor.
The LAPSSET multi agency team is drawn from Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC), Kenya Railway Company, NLC, KeNHA, Kenya Revenue Authority among others.
By Erick Kyalo
