Cote d’Ivoire is a sovereign nation in West Africa that originally was a serious coffee and cocoa producer, but in the 1980s went through an economic crisis. After that, the main export is agriculture, and has remained so well into the 21st century.
Here are 5 development projects in Cote d’Ivoire that will vastly improve their economy and national well-being. Hopefully it will bring them closer to a fully-functioning, independent society.
1. Gender-Based Violence Project
In 2001, a political crisis in Cote d’Ivoire severely diminished the role of and respect towards women, leading to a large growth in Gender-Based Violence (GBV); in fact, the GBV affected around 67 percent of all female citizens. Used as a weapon of war, survivors and victims of GBV had to grapple with the harsh affects of trauma and medical conditions without a judicial system that held the criminals accountable.
The Emerging From Conflict-Multisector Support Project started in December 2007 and focuses mainly on filling the aid gap that 17,000 social workers and crucial employees in this sector created by departing. To accomplish such a feat, the nation established many service centers that offered an package of medical, psychological, economic and legal help for GBV survivors. The GBV section of this project used around $3 million, and the nation has felt its impact since: it rehabilitated 8 social protection services, 16 health centers, trained 300 social workers in GBV treatment and care, and created a referral and counter-referral system that created more attention for GBV.
2. Urban Water Supply Project
Approved in June 2016, the Urban Water Supply Project will drastically change the daily life of many citizens. Through 2022, this $50 million program hope to improve water quality, and increase water accessibility in select urban areas. The main focus of the project, the water supply component, will focus on constructing water treatment plants, boreholes and other ways to receive water. It will also work on constructing tanks and water transmission lines.
3. Emergency Urban Infrastructure Project
Specifically in the cities of Abidjan, Bouake and other selected cities one of the 5 development projects in Cote d’Ivoire aims to increase the quality of urban structures and infrastructures. Finished in 2010 with the cost of $50 million, the project focuses on scaling-up basic urban services. It also hopes to strengthen management capacity and and extend network services in cities as well.
4. Electricity Transmission and Access Project
In March 2017, the World Bank approved a $325 million development project in Cote d’Ivoire for the Electricity Transmission and Access Project. The project plans to increase to electricity for the population in 10 regional capital cities and rural areas. The government’s planned “Electricity for All” program will reduce costs from $250 to $2 per household.
5. HKB Bridge
Considered the biggest civil engineering project in Cote d’Ivoire, the HKB bridge plans to cross the Ébrié Lagoon which divides Abidjan in two. Until recently, the city had two bridges, but with this creation, 80,000 vehicles per day can now cross at a much faster rate. Originally, traffic jams would cause the journey to be near 90 minutes on the most routine days, but at 7km long and a price of $270 million, this will become a much quicker journey.
With these five development projects in Cote d’Ivoire, the country will be able to grow and continue its upward progress towards stable economic development.
– Nick McGuire
Photo: Flickr
Infrastructure in Argentina Set for Steady Improvement
The Latin country of Argentina, tucked between Brazil and Chile, has had a long history of improving its infrastructure. In fact, the infrastructure in Argentina is ranked as one of the best among other Latin countries, but still requires many improvements.
In total, the country boasts over 130,000 miles of roads and highways. However, only a little over 39,000 miles of the roads are paved. Additionally, the country has an extensive rail system with almost 24,000 miles of tracks and 6,800 miles of navigable waterways. Argentina also has 1,300 airports, but only 142 have paved runways.
Despite having a solid infrastructure, the country still has a long road ahead of it. In order to address the problems of unpaved or damaged roads, ports and runways, the government has launched new projects. The government has offered several proposals for 2017 that will address improvements for 94 highways and roads, 62 airports, 27 railways, eight urban transports and five ports.
Many projects have already gone underway thanks to a number of aid packages to improve infrastructure in Argentina. The United States and the World Bank have even pitched in with their respective $7 million and $450 million donations for highway construction.
Beyond improving the quality of life for citizens by completing these projects, the improvements of the infrastructure in Argentina will also be boosting its economy. The main objective of the plans is to kick-start the economy and create more jobs. The long term plan is to boost the country’s competitiveness and lay the foundation for an export-led economic strategy.
The first step to bridge the infrastructure gaps in Argentina is to double the investment in the infrastructure sector compared to the levels of recent years, from three percent to six percent of GDP, increasing approximately $13.5 billion a year to $27 billion. The country has already resecured access to international capital markets with a $15 billion bond issue to address these issues.
As the government makes plans to improve infrastructure in Argentina, the rest of the country will see improvements too. Upgrades on roads, waterways, ports and runways will help increase the economy, create new jobs and improve the overall quality of life.
– Amira Wynn
Photo: Flickr
The Organizations and Steps Used in Reducing Poverty in Niger
According to World Bank, the best way to help the situation is to grow drought resistant crops and come up with new ways to store water.
However, these efforts may be challenged by the conflicts spilling in from three of Niger’s neighboring countries. The conflict in northern Nigeria has relocated many chronically malnourished people into the Lake Chad area. Fighting has crossed over the border, worsening local food insecurity and endangering host communities, refugees and humanitarian workers.
Access to clean water is nearly nonexistent. Lack of food and water has caused malnutrition, disease, flooding and displacement — all of which contribute significantly to poverty in Niger. Many families are unable to provide the basic needs of food and clean water for their children. Save the Children is working to alleviate suffering among child refugees, returnees, internally displaced children and locals through health and nutrition programs, among others.
The World Food Programme has been working with Niger since 1968 to alleviate hunger and malnutrition.
The organisation has aligned its goals with the United Nations’ 2030 agenda, most notably with sustainable development goals 2 and 17: “End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture,” and “Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.”
Oxfam has also assisted in reducing poverty in Niger for 25 years. They raise money to implement an education system and pastoral communities by means of lobbying and demanding accountability from the states.
Oxfam is using the media to promote a strong social society through political participation and reducing gender-based violence, women leadership and promoting sexual equality. They are installing a water system to provide clean drinking water for essential activities.
With a continued effort to reduce poverty in Niger, these organizations and other coordinated global forces will hopefully be able to make a lasting difference in the lives of these vulnerable people.
– Nicole Hentzell
Photo: Flickr
Credit Access in Russia Since the Collapse of the Soviet Union
In 1991, the Russian Federation rose from the ashes of the former Soviet Union in economic and political turmoil. Prime Minister Yegor Gaidar led free-market reforms in 1992, and many Russians accused him and the Russian government of corruption and poor management, leading to the rise of the oligarchs. Many former party members and enterprising individuals took advantage of the disorganization of the new state’s economy and government in order to privately take control of assets and former state-run companies.
The high concentration of wealth in the hands of only a few rich men was detrimental to the Russian economy and its new democratic government. Credit access in Russia was easy to acquire for these men, as many ran the banks and largest companies in the country; unfortunately, credit was not as accessible to common Russian people. In 2004, President Vladimir Putin declared war on the oligarchs. As a result, Mikhail Khodorkovsky — one of the richest men in Russia at the time due to his ownership of the oil company Yukos — and Putin’s chief political rival were jailed. Other oligarchs suffered the same fate in the name of improving the lives of the lives of the common Russian people.
The Long Game
Despite these gains, credit access in Russia was not going to improve overnight. The immense size of the Russian Federation hinders banking for the common Russian person still to this day. According to the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI), a major contributor to this issue is the combination of Russians living in rural areas of the country, the ability to reach banks and archaic and dysfunctional banking legislation.
The Ministry for Economic Development (MED), the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank of Russia and the Russian Micro Finance Center compiled a team of experts to visit and study other banking systems so as to work to improve their own. In 2010, their findings influenced laws that allowed banks broader powers to provide financial services to their clients and ease credit access in Russia. But due to the lack of clarity and infrastructure, the banks were not able to take advantage of these new reforms.
This trend is not new to Russia and had to be fixed by government intervention. Russian’s Ministry of Economic Development received a long-term grant from the AFI in order to improve banking access to Russians. Increased access to banks improves credit access in Russia, and in 2012 the AFI stated that their were 40,000 banks to the 143 million Russians. By the end of their partnership with the MED, their goal is to increase the number of banks to 50,000.
Domestic Banking
The improvement of domestic banks helped the Russian economy to function after the United States and the European Union levied sanctions against Russian companies and government officials. Russian companies were forced to use Russian banks instead of foreign banks, and those companies who were not sanctioned began using Russian banks in fear of finding their name added to the sanctioned list.
This increase in power of the banks has increased credit access in Russia. Although it has been good for businesses, banks have begun a system of predatory lending. Tuva, one of Russia’s poorest and most undeveloped regions, has seen an increase in borrowing. Much of this money is used to either pay off existing accrued debt or to maintain the standard of living.
It is estimated that average household in Russia spends 15 percent of its income managing debt. Interest rates have also climbed higher, thereby making it more difficult for these Russians to climb out of debt and for the banks to make their money back. High interest rates have driven off people who could afford to pay back loans, and this money would help banks recoup their losses. In 2014, the Russian government was forced to bail out two of the country’s top five lenders.
Credit access in Russia has improved dramatically since the collapse of the Soviet Union, but the quality of the banking system has fluctuated. To save its economy, the Russian government needs to once again improve the country’s banking system, including its lending practices. Although rural citizens have better access to credit, it only does them harm if they are unable to save themselves from debt.
– Nick DeMarco
Photo: Flickr
Efforts for Improving Women’s Empowerment in Guyana
The early 1970s marked the mainstreaming of women’s empowerment in Guyana, with protection and gender equality coming next, followed by the establishment of the Women’s Affair Bureau in 1981. Since then, efforts are constantly made to keep Guyanese women safe. In ten years, female participation in the labor force increased from 48.2 percent in 2003 to 52.9 percent in 2013, ranking 154th according to the World Bank ratio of female to male labor force participation. In 2015, President David A. Granger stated, “we seek to build a country in which women and girls can expect to live in safety, to be protected from abuse, such as trafficking in persons, domestic violence and workplace hazards.” He took action soon after this statement at a Global Leaders Meeting.
The Five-Point Plan
President Granger created a five-point plan that would boost opportunities for women. The plan would focus on: improving access to education for women, taking on violence against women, enhancing employment opportunities for women, eliminating poverty and promoting equality of women in politics. These issues have been addressed in the past but there is still more work can be done. Adjusting these foci into modern approaches will significantly push forward women’s empowerment in Guyana.
Improving Access to Education for Women
Guyana has met the goal of abolishing gender variation in primary and secondary education, and currently aims to achieve the same at college level.
Taking on Violence Against Women
“Break the Cycle Take Control” ran from 2008 to 2013, and served as a national policy on domestic violence. In 2012, many cases of violence against women went unreported, and there’s currently one center for women of violence, funded by the State party and ran by a non-governmental organization.
Enhancing Employment Opportunities for Women
The Women and Gender Equality Commision of Guyana intends to monitor and educate the public and employees on desirable employment practices in relation to women. The State party has been urged to increase vocational and technical training for women — including within agriculture and male-dominated fields — and allow women’s empowerment in Guyana to thrive.
Eliminating Poverty
It was estimated that 50 percent of women lived in poverty in 1999; in 2017, the number was reduced by 2.5 percent, and now reports state that it’s predominantly children 16 years or younger who live in poverty. Nevertheless, the Sustainable Development Goals are on target, and openly indicate that poverty must be decreased among women and children.
Promoting Equality of Women in Politics
For national and regional elections, candidate lists must have at least one-third of gender representatives be women in order for the proposal to be eligible. This regulation has improved women’s involvement in decision-making at a high level, and in 2015, women represented 33 percent of Parliament — a 14.5 percent increase from 1992.
With backing from the First Lady, Sandra Granger, these five points will also include influence from a woman’s perspective. Focusing on equality, safety of children and education, Granger will help instill her husband’s goals while merging the divide of the country through women’s empowerment in Guyana.
– Tara Jackson
Photo: Flickr
5 of the Most Significant Development Projects in Laos
The Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s Livestock and Economic Development Project
In northern Laos, the ADB is helping empower local women by providing them with livestock so that they can economically sustain themselves and their families. The Livestock Development Project disburses $16.5 million through various regional projects across the country, with funds contributed from the ADB and other international aid agencies. Ever since it began in September 2006, the project has helped women play more important roles in their families and local communities.
The U.N. Development Programme (UNDP)’s Climate Change Readiness Project
The U.N.’s Green Climate Fund is supporting the Laotian government in seeking solutions to climate change and improving the county’s access to renewable energy. The UNDP has pledged a funding programme as part of its Readiness and Preparatory Support Programme, an 18-month project designed to help local stakeholders across the government and different sectors of the economy to reform the agricultural sector, forestry and environmental practices in local communities. Environmental development projects in Laos arising from the programme will hopefully aid Laos in its fight against the effects of climate change.
High-Speed Rail Link to China and Thailand
As part of the high-profile “One Belt, One Road” initiative, China is investing $6 billion on a rail line connecting Thailand to the southern Chinese city of Kunming — with 420 kilometers running through Laos, connecting towns and cities throughout the country. While the project will surely increase connectivity, the rail line has been criticized for its displacement of locals living along the line, including the eviction of over 4,400 Lao families from their homes. While only 14 percent completed, the project has provided employment for over 7,000 local Lao workers and is contributing to infrastructure development in the poorly connected country. The line is one of many high-profile development projects in Laos currently under construction, including major hydropower plants.
The World Bank’s Mekong Integrated Water Resources Management Project
The Mekong River is one of the longest rivers in Southeast Asia, and is an important water source and vital artery in Laos and neighboring countries. The World Bank’s Mekong Integrated Water Resources Management Project seeks to coordinate closer collaboration between Laos and its neighbors on access to water in the Lower Mekong Delta, particularly in improving the management of water resources and fisheries in the densely populated region. The initiative also includes development projects in Laos to improve the sustainability of the Mekong river basin’s water resources and improve the management of floods.
The World Bank’s Health Governance and Nutrition Development Project
The World Bank is expanding access to health and improved nutrition in Laos by contributing $15 million in additional financing to healthcare development projects in Laos. The funding will support the modernization of healthcare information systems and efforts to increase access to reproductive care, maternal care and healthcare for children. Since launching in 2015, foreign governments including Australia and Japan have since pledged $5 million for an immunization drive and reforms in the healthcare sector in Laos.
Laos is relying both on international organizations and aid groups as well as on its wealthiest and largest neighbor, China, in pursuing both economic development and a way out of poverty for millions of its citizens. Expanded access to healthcare and water resources through World Bank projects are just two of many development projects in Laos as the country pursues greater human development to go along with its rapid pace of economic growth.
– Giacomo Tognini
Photo: Flickr
Women’s Empowerment in China
The legal and social status of women in China has greatly improved since liberty. An official census in 2010 reported that women made up 44.7 percent of the national labor force. However, a variety of current issues for women’s empowerment in China call for global support. Relatively high rates of female illiteracy and gender-selective abortion remain in rural areas. Due to the implementation of the “two-child” policy since 2016, employment has added pressure on Chinese women since they have to balance career development and family affairs.
Further, it was reported in 2016 that one-fourth of women in China had suffered from domestic violence. A few criminal issues such as trafficking, prostitution and arranged marriage also frequently occur in some areas.
Modern advocates of women’s empowerment in China oppose discrimination against females and endeavor to increase the proportion of women in the National People’s Congress and leadership groups at all levels. They also strive to enhance the average income level as well as the family status of women and to create an ideal public environment of equality between men and women.
The ratio of Chinese women in parliament was 24.3 percent in 2013. Many outstanding women have held senior political positions over the past forty years. Qing-Ling Song and Ying-Chao Deng are perhaps two of the greatest Chinese women of the twentieth century.
The goal for women’s empowerment in China is not merely to achieve political and workplace equality, but also achieve complete equality in social and family status towards all individuals.
– Xin Gao
5 of the Major Development Projects in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea is a vast, resource-rich country stretched across multiple islands in the western Pacific. Home to 8 million people, Papua New Guinea remains one of the poorest countries in the region, despite its rapidly growing economy. Long dependent on the export of rare minerals, Papua New Guinea is building large infrastructure projects across the country as well as enlisting foreign aid and assistance. Here are five development projects in Papua New Guinea:
Motukea and Lae Port Projects
The government of Papua New Guinea is partnering with ICTSI, a port management company from the Philippines, to build a large port and logistics hub at Motukea island, just outside the capital of Port Moresby in the southeast. The Port of Motukea Project would move container traffic outside of the busy capital, and aims to turn the country into a hub for maritime trade in the region. ICTSI and the government are also collaborating on other development projects in Papua New Guinea including building a flagship new port in the northeast in Lae, the country’s second-largest city.
World Bank’s Urban Youth Employment Project
Papua New Guinea has one of the world’s highest rates of youth unemployment, especially in urban and poorer areas. The World Bank is supporting many development projects in Papua New Guinea, particularly a project designed to provide job training and employment opportunities for jobless young Papua New Guineans in the capital of Port Moresby. The project has trained over 15,000 people — 40 percent of them women — and has placed 35 percent of participants in full-time paid jobs since it began in 2011.
Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s Sustainable Highlands Highway Investment Program
Papua New Guinea’s vast highlands region comprises the country’s seven landlocked provinces, home to around 40 percent of the population. The area is poorly connected to the coastal capital and is dominated by small-scale rural agriculture. The ADB is investing in a project to build a modern 2-lane highway crossing the province and connecting over 1,800 km of local feeder roads, providing a link between major urban centers and the hinterlands. The National Highlands Highway is one of the government’s flagship development projects in Papua New Guinea.
The European Commission (EC)’s Millennium Village Development Pilot Project
Papua New Guinea is still a country of subsistence farmers, with over 85 percent of the population depending on it as of 2015. In a pilot project running from 2011 to 2015, the European Commission targeted four communities, seeking to improve rural services and infrastructure in the country’s most rural areas. The EC chose four villages in three of Papua New Guinea’s poorest regions — the landlocked Highlands; Momase in the north, home to the second-largest city of Lae; and the Milne Bay islands in the southeast. The pilot project improved access to healthcare, education and job training, as well as investing in development projects across Papua New Guinea.
Ramazon Hydropower Plant Project in Bougainville
Papua New Guinea is investing in large hydropower plants to increase its share of renewable energy, as well as modernizing and renewing aging plants it already depends on. Norwegian engineering firm Multiconsult is partnering with the government on a new 3-Megawatt hydropower plant in Ramazon on the autonomous island region of Bougainville, as well as several other infrastructure development projects in Papua New Guinea including rehabilitating older hydropower stations at Yonki Dam in the Highlands and Warangoi on the island of New Britain.
Despite its diverse and challenging geography, Papua New Guinea is seeking to build infrastructure and power projects to drive economic development. Development projects in Papua New Guinea span from the capital to the country’s poorest areas, involving foreign firms and international aid groups in a cross-sector approach to development.
– Giacomo Tognini
Photo: Flickr
The Varying Levels of Success of Humanitarian Aid to Botswana
Botswana is celebrated as a stable democracy in the African region and has experienced steady economic growth for a middle-income country. However, its population also struggles with damaging droughts and one of the highest rates of HIV in the world. Since Botswana is considered a middle-income country, the amount of humanitarian aid to Botswana has decreased considerably, especially when compared to other African countries such as Tanzania.
Botswana has made notable success in its mission to reduce the high HIV rates, and such an accomplishment wouldn’t have been possible without the humanitarian aid to Botswana from other countries. For instance, it was the “first African country to promise free antiretroviral to its citizens in partnership with the Merck Company Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.”
Botswana’s antiretroviral program (MASA) launched in 2002, and as of 2016, it;s estimated that about 300,000 HIV-infected adults received treatment; this number corresponded to an increase from 78 percent in 2015 to 84 percent in 2016.
In addition to MASA, since 2004 Botswana has also received over $750 million through the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which promotes “sustainable, high-quality, cost-effective HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, and care interventions.” USAID has helped implement PEPFAR in the country, and that has perhaps contributed to Botswana’s remarkable response to this epidemic. As of 2015, around 92 percent pregnant women with HIV received antiretroviral medication.
Some of the other achievements resulting from humanitarian aid to Botswana include testing and counseling for 272,634 people, and providing care and support for 1008 orphans with HIV.
While these figures demonstrate success in Botswana’s response to this epidemic, it is not clear as to how sustainable these programs are since humanitarian aid to Botswana has decreased significantly over the years. For instance, PEPFAR has made drastic cuts in its funding to Botswana, going from $84 million in 2011 to $39 million in 2015, and $28 million in 2016. So only time will tell if Botswana has reached a point where it can maintain its notable response to HIV with such considerably low funds.
– Mehruba Chowdhury
Photo: Flickr
5 Significantly Important Development Projects in Cote d’Ivoire
Cote d’Ivoire is a sovereign nation in West Africa that originally was a serious coffee and cocoa producer, but in the 1980s went through an economic crisis. After that, the main export is agriculture, and has remained so well into the 21st century.
Here are 5 development projects in Cote d’Ivoire that will vastly improve their economy and national well-being. Hopefully it will bring them closer to a fully-functioning, independent society.
1. Gender-Based Violence Project
In 2001, a political crisis in Cote d’Ivoire severely diminished the role of and respect towards women, leading to a large growth in Gender-Based Violence (GBV); in fact, the GBV affected around 67 percent of all female citizens. Used as a weapon of war, survivors and victims of GBV had to grapple with the harsh affects of trauma and medical conditions without a judicial system that held the criminals accountable.
The Emerging From Conflict-Multisector Support Project started in December 2007 and focuses mainly on filling the aid gap that 17,000 social workers and crucial employees in this sector created by departing. To accomplish such a feat, the nation established many service centers that offered an package of medical, psychological, economic and legal help for GBV survivors. The GBV section of this project used around $3 million, and the nation has felt its impact since: it rehabilitated 8 social protection services, 16 health centers, trained 300 social workers in GBV treatment and care, and created a referral and counter-referral system that created more attention for GBV.
2. Urban Water Supply Project
Approved in June 2016, the Urban Water Supply Project will drastically change the daily life of many citizens. Through 2022, this $50 million program hope to improve water quality, and increase water accessibility in select urban areas. The main focus of the project, the water supply component, will focus on constructing water treatment plants, boreholes and other ways to receive water. It will also work on constructing tanks and water transmission lines.
3. Emergency Urban Infrastructure Project
Specifically in the cities of Abidjan, Bouake and other selected cities one of the 5 development projects in Cote d’Ivoire aims to increase the quality of urban structures and infrastructures. Finished in 2010 with the cost of $50 million, the project focuses on scaling-up basic urban services. It also hopes to strengthen management capacity and and extend network services in cities as well.
4. Electricity Transmission and Access Project
In March 2017, the World Bank approved a $325 million development project in Cote d’Ivoire for the Electricity Transmission and Access Project. The project plans to increase to electricity for the population in 10 regional capital cities and rural areas. The government’s planned “Electricity for All” program will reduce costs from $250 to $2 per household.
5. HKB Bridge
Considered the biggest civil engineering project in Cote d’Ivoire, the HKB bridge plans to cross the Ébrié Lagoon which divides Abidjan in two. Until recently, the city had two bridges, but with this creation, 80,000 vehicles per day can now cross at a much faster rate. Originally, traffic jams would cause the journey to be near 90 minutes on the most routine days, but at 7km long and a price of $270 million, this will become a much quicker journey.
With these five development projects in Cote d’Ivoire, the country will be able to grow and continue its upward progress towards stable economic development.
– Nick McGuire
Photo: Flickr
4 Projects to Improve Infrastructure in Kenya
Mombasa-Nairobi Railway
The Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway Project started in 2013 and began building a new standard gauge railway line for transportation between the cities of Mombasa and Nairobi. The completed railway would accommodate both passengers and cargo. Passengers’ travel time between the two cities would be cut from more than ten hours to just over four hours, while cargo would be transported in less than eight hours.
The project is said to be completed in December 2017. This project will not only decrease travel time but it will cut the costs of travel. With 40 stations to be built between Mombasa and Nairobi, the project offers an opportunity to create 30,000 new jobs with this development of infrastructure in Kenya.
Tatu City Project
Over $500 million is being invested for the creation of Tatu City’s industrial park. This park will include residential developments, businesses, a technology park, parks and playgrounds, hospitals and health facilities, schools and light industrial and warehousing facilities. With the addition of these different forms of infrastructure, thousands of jobs will be created. It will also lead to an approximate five percent decrease in Kenya’s housing deficit through the creation of more affordable homes.
Lamu Port Berths
The goal of the Lamu Port Berths project is to build 32 deep sea berths, which are places where ships will dock, and shipyards for the port at Manda Bay. There have been two berths constructed so far with the third being completed in 2018. The first three are economically covered by Kenya’s government. The rest of the 29 berths will be covered by private sector investors.
In the process of building each berth, there has been supporting infrastructure projects completed to assist in the building. Port headquarters, a police station and an electric power connection and water reticulation network have been constructed.
Lake Turkana Wind Power Project
With a vision of “providing reliable, low-cost energy to Kenya”, the Lake Turkana Wind Power Project has finished the development of a wind farm in the Loiyangalani District of Marsabit County. Since this area has temperature fluctuations daily that change wind forces, it is the optimal place to build a wind farm to generate energy. The wind farm includes 365 wind turbines that cover 40,000 acres. In July 2017, the wind farm was ready to provide 310MW of low-cost energy to Kenya’s national grid. This is the largest wind farm project in Africa and will transmit 428 km from Lake Turkana to Susua.
Infrastructure in Kenya is improving each year as the country works towards the goal of improving the livelihood of its residents. Their efforts have improved railway transportation, public building infrastructure, shipyards and energy farms. Overall, a better Kenya will be the ultimate goal of these projects.
– Brianna Summ
Photo: Flickr