Kenyan and Chinese workers at a port construction site, 2017. [Xinhua]
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Geopolitics
Built by Chinese state-owned company, Kenya’s Lamu port (US $5 billion) will serve as key transshipment hub for containers and oil
Linking Kenya with Ethiopia, Uganda and South Sudan in a US $25 billion project, operations will begin in June and join 46 other African ports in the Maritime Silk Road
Africa strengthens security cooperation with China, which contributed 15.2% (US $7 billion) of UN’s 2019 peace mission budget
Since 1989, over 40,000 Chinese peacekeepers served in 24 UN missions, mainly on the continent, with ⅔ of peacekeeping budget allocated to Africa; China pledged donation of 300,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses to UN peacekeepers
Economy
Uganda negotiates loan repayment terms (US $2.18 billion) with China Exim Bank to build 273km-section of interregional rail corridor
Standard Gauge Railway (1,740 km) links East Africa’s coast (Kenya) and interior, but operation’s sustainability a concern; Uganda declined repaying loan using future 1.7 billion barrels/day (2025) oil revenue
