Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta on Thursday 20 May officially opened the new port of Lamu for trade with the first berth becoming operational.
Kenyatta announced that two more berths would be completed and in operation by the end of this year.
The port, which has been the subject of controversy and protests by environmentalists and some of the citizens of the archipelago north of the Kenyan coast, will be a key maritime hub linking Kenya to landlocked nations such as South Sudan and Ethiopia who have participated in the construction project, as well as other Central African nations.
"I am confident that before the end of the year, perhaps as early as October, we will be able to invite Heads of State from East African countries and other stakeholders for the full launch of the port after the completion of the second berth next July and the third one later," the President said. "This infrastructure project will open up great opportunities in trade, tourism and create jobs not only in Lamu County but across the country.
The President also called on the Lamu County Government to develop construction projects and activities that would complement the port and provide a necessary and remunerative spin-off for citizens. For his part, he confirmed his promise to improve the road network in the area.
According to Kenyatta, oil companies using the port will also have an interest in improving the county's infrastructure. Contracts have already been awarded for highways and pipelines that will connect the port to the northern regions, and there are also plans, not in the short term, to build a railway.
Lamu, according to the government's intentions, will be the country's second commercial port after Mombasa and has already received the first ship at the same time as its inauguration, making it an essential junction for all of Sub-Saharan Africa.  At present, the road from Lamu to Ethiopia is 142 kilometres long and almost all paved, passing through Garsen, Garissa, Kilimambogo, Isiolo to the Kenyan border at Moyale and from there to Addis Ababa.
However, a Chinese concession has already given the go-ahead for the new road that will directly link Lamu to Garissa, reducing the entire stretch to less than a thousand kilometres and making it easier for South Sudan, whose capital Juba is a good 2,700 km from Port Sudan, the nearest port of call.
Concerns, however, relate to the environmental impact on one of the coast's small paradises and ecosystems, and especially for fishing, which is currently the most important resource for the local population.