Lamu County
14th-century Swahili town faces 21st-century megaport—LAPSSET's 23 berths promised Africa's largest port. By 2026: heritage and industry coexist or collision continues.
Lamu exists because the monsoon exists—the same seasonal winds that built Mombasa created this archipelago of over 65 islands as an even older Swahili trading center. The old town, founded in the 14th century, represents the oldest and best-preserved Swahili settlement in East Africa, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Donkeys still carry goods through streets too narrow for cars, maintaining a way of life largely unchanged for centuries.
The 21st century brought a collision between heritage and megaproject. LAPSSET—the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport corridor—envisions transforming this sleepy archipelago into one of Africa's largest ports, with 23 berths capable of handling the world's largest vessels. First proposed in 1975, construction began under President Kibaki in 2009, with the first berth completed in 2019. Chinese financing made it part of the Belt and Road Initiative's "String of Pearls" strategy.
Yet 2025 finds LAPSSET's medium-term goals uncertain. Al-Shabaab insurgency has stalled aspects of the project; the railway and pipeline components remain incomplete. Meanwhile, the Special Economic Zone progresses incrementally—a KSh 1 billion cotton ginnery nears November 2025 completion, and tuna processing and desalination facilities are negotiated under PPP arrangements.
The county exhibits classic contested development: a heritage community facing industrial transformation that promises prosperity but threatens identity. By 2026, Lamu tests whether Africa's largest port project can coexist with UNESCO heritage status—or whether one must eventually yield to the other.