Lamu, KENYA: Lamu county has been marked as one of the counties that will benefit from a Sh.8 Billion investment plan by the United Kingdom.
The UK has in motion a city modernization fund that seeks to improve housing, water provision and social amenities in eight counties in the country including Lamu.
Other counties slated to benefit from the fund are Garissa, Isiolo, Marsabit, Moyale, Lodwar, Maralal, Wajir and Mandera.
Speaking when he met Lamu governor Fahim Twaha in Lamu over the weekend, British High Commissioner Nic Hailey said UK was already in the process of bringing in technical experts to work on the necessary logistics necessary for the set up of the cities.
Having funded the master plan for the Lamu Port-LAPSSET master plan development, Hailey said the cities will help propel the Lapsset to greater heights.
He said the UK was keen to ensure, Lamu benefits maximally from the city modernization fund.
Hailey said it was only proper that a project of the Lapsset’s, magnitude be surrounded by modern cities and settlements and also an equally modern state of infrastructure.
“British firms are willing and ready to partner with the Lapsset in any way we can to better the project. The fact that Lamu is benefiting from the fund is enough proof that this region is quickly transforming into the next biggest hub in terms of trade, tourism, investments and many more. We want to put in as much support as we can for the seaboard in eastern Africa,” said Hailey.
Lamu governor Fahim Twaha pledged unending cooperation to make the plans come true.
He said the city modernization fund was not only going to project Lamu more on the Business, Trade, and Investment fronts but also Kenya as a nation.
“I strongly believe that the plan will transform Lamu and the entire country. As a county, we are looking forward to that time when this region, will drop the marginalization tag that has for decades been associated with us and embrace a new face, that of being the next biggest hub not just at the coast but Africa,” said Twaha.
