Lamu, Kenya - South Sudan is in the final stages of carrying out research on the construction of an oil pipeline through Kenya following the oil shutdown after a disagreement with Khartoum on the terms of using its oil facilities. South Sudanese President Salva Kiir said Friday that analysis on the routing of the pipeline was currently being done to pave the way for its construction as an alternative to using the northern oil transportation infrastructure.

“Within days after South Sudan shut down oil production, we signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop an oil pipeline. A final research and analysis of the project are being developed,” Kiir said in Lamu, an ancient Kenyan coastal town.

The two countries signed the oil pipeline agreement in January, days before Kiir travelled to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for negotiations with President Omar El-Bashir, on the terms of using the country’s oil transport facilities.

The latest crisis started after South Sudan accused Khartoum of “stealing” its oil on transit to the Port Sudan, on the Red Sea, causing a major diplomatic clash.

“We know our countries would be joined by a well-developed infrastructure and economy,” Kiir added.

President Mwai Kibaki, who invited Kiir and the Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi to witness the launch of the Lamu port construction, said the countries in the region were ready to work together to build modern infrastructure.

“We are ready to work together. We shall build offices and factories for the development of a modern export-import market in the region,” Kibaki remarked.

“We are providing our landlocked countries with a dependable link to the sea. Through these, we will create labour and employment for our people,” Kibaki said.

Kibaki said the Lamu project marked an important milestone in Kenya’s regional agenda and noted that immense benefits would emerge from the project.

Kenya and South Sudan are exploring the construction of the 2,200-kilometre oil pipeline to Lamu, where the government of Kenya hopes to complete the construction of three berths, to provide larger and modern ship with a place to dock and discharge cargo.

“The vision is more than ship and cargo. It is a vision for connecting our people,” Kiir said, praising the Lamu port project and the planned railway link.

“It is a vision in which people would board cargo and be in Lamu on the 1,700-km rail network on the same day,” Kiir noted during the launch of the project.

Kenya’s Transport Minister Amos Kimunya, said Kenya and South Sudan planned to sign a bilateral agreement on the construction of the modern railway network.

Pana 02/03/2012