INTERVIEW: Stephen Ikua, Director General/CEO, LAPSSET Corridor Development Authority (LCDA), Driving one of the continent’s most ambitious regional multi-modal infrastructure corridor programs.
The Lamu Port South-Sudan Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) Program is a regional multi-modal mega infrastructure program integrating roads, railway and pipeline components in Republic of Kenya, Republic of South Sudan and Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia aiming to provide a seamless connection through a second strategic seaport and infrastructure corridor.
Stephen Ikua, MBS is the current Director General/CEO of the LAPSSET Corridor Development Authority (LCDA) in Kenya. He is an accomplished professional in Public Administration, Human Capital Development, Policy Formulation, Project Management, Devolved governance and Integrated regional development.
He has over 30 years’ experience in the Public Sector. He was part of the conceptualization and design of the LAPSSET Project. Additionally, he has held various capacities in government related to regional development.
He carries the title “MBS” – Moran of the Order of the Burning Spear, a Kenyan State Honour that indicates formal recognition for service.
As a regional multimodal corridor, LAPSSET is structured to crowd-in private capital across ports, logistics and industry. Kenya’s PPP Act (2021) and SEZ framework give investors predictability, while government has de-risked early stages—delivering three Lamu Port berths and key highways—so private partners can finance assets. Immediate opportunities include additional Lamu berths, the Lamu SEZ master development, the Isiolo–Maralal–Lokichar road, standard-gauge railway, a product-oil pipeline, airports, resort cities, an oil refinery and the High Grand Falls Dam. With corridor-wide demand, cross-border reach and anchor offtakes, we see bankable greenfield PPPs scaling responsibly with strong local content and fair risk allocation.
I look forward to practical, bankability-focused conversations: structuring phased concessions for additional Lamu berths; securing a master developer for the Lamu SEZ; closing the Isiolo–Maralal–Lokichar road; advancing SGR and the product-oil pipeline; and mobilising blended finance and guarantees for airports, resort cities, the refinery and the High Grand Falls Dam. With DFIs, EPCs, operators and financiers, I want to discuss risk allocation, tariff frameworks, creditworthy offtakes, customs harmonisation and one-stop border posts that unlock corridor throughput. Equally, we must align environmental and social safeguards, resettlement and community benefits so private capital strengthens prosperity, trade facilitation and growth along the corridor.
