Why Ethiopia and South Sudan Are Banking on Kenya’s $25 Billion Project
Ethiopia has 120 million people and no coastline. South Sudan’s oil runs through a war zone. Kenya’s answer: a $25 billion corridor that could redraw the map of East Africa.
This is LAPSSET — the Lamu Port–South Sudan–Ethiopia Transport Corridor. A deep-water port built on a quiet stretch of Kenya’s northern coast, a planned 2,000+ km railway, highways, a crude oil pipeline, and three new cities — all designed to give two landlocked nations their own road to the ocean.
A century ago, the British built a railway through this same land and called it the Lunatic Express. This time, three African nations drew the line themselves.
In this documentary, we break down how Lamu Port went from being written off as a white elephant to receiving the largest vessels in East Africa, why Ethiopia and South Sudan need this corridor, what’s actually been built so far — and what still stands in the way.
Why Ethiopia pays over $1 billion a year for port access through Djibouti
How the Sudan civil war strangled South Sudan’s oil exports
Lamu Port’s 17.5-metre draft — and why depth decides which ports win global trade.
Kenya’s Vision 2030 and the seven projects inside LAPSSET
The colonial Lunatic Express and what this project must do differently
The road, railway, pipeline, and airport progress as of 2026
🎬 EXPLORE AFRICA’S MEGAPROJECTS, REGION BY REGION
This video is part of our East Africa series. If you want the full picture of who’s building the continent — and how — start here:
▶ EAST AFRICA’s Infrastructure Revolution — Railways, ports, and the corridors redrawing the region (this video’s playlist):
[LINK https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLISXBVuUCGzqGcVYwoxinV3ykQfzQVu9c ]
▶ WEST AFRICA 2.0: Building the Cities of Tomorrow — 32 documentaries on refineries, new cities, and the projects reshaping the coast:
[LINK: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLISXBVuUCGzqfpR4gO_DDhdhQrm1dTX53 ]
▶ SOUTHERN AFRICA: Rebuilding an Industrial Giant — Construction updates from the continent’s industrial heartland:
[LINK: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLISXBVuUCGzphMg06AXHdorl3qoHqwTWQ ]
▶ CENTRAL AFRICA: Construction at the Extreme — Megadams and megaprojects in the hardest terrain on Earth:
[LINK: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLISXBVuUCGzpem-g1Hos7zjByv7Q84117 ]
▶ MENA (Middle East & North Africa) — Pipelines, ports, and giga-projects across the region:
[LINK: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLISXBVuUCGzr-KxQqP6HTqAD6cALEEo4x ]
Subscribe and turn on notifications so you don’t miss the next one: [https://www.youtube.com/@UCMvSttxqnENs7Epoebl5q9A ]
