Ethiopia Plans to Build Its Naval Base at a Kenyan Port

The Ethiopian government is likely to consider building its naval base in the neighbouring Kenya.

With over 200,000 military active personnel, the East Africa nation plans to revive its navy forces for the first time in decades.

 Roba Megerssa Akawak, the chief executive officer of the state-owned Ethiopian Shipping & Logistics Services Enterprise (ESLSE) said his government may establish its naval base in Kenya’s coastal town, Lamu.

 “Countries cooperate in naval activities and Ethiopia should really consider this,” Roba said in an interview in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. “The decision by the government to have naval interests in cooperation with other countries or of its own is very important and crucial and timely.”

The plan may have a covert link with Kenya’s proposed $3.87 billion harbour near the border with Somalia which is part of the so-called Lapsset project.

The habour will be a transport corridor that envisions linking Ethiopia and South Sudan to Kenya.

“A navy would be useful not only in protecting ESLSE’s fleet of 11 civilian vessels, which sail to the Indian subcontinent, the Far East and the Black Sea but in protecting the “very volatile” Red Sea area where Ethiopia has other economic interests “and there are conflicting political interests,” Roba said.

 Djibouti is “controlled by naval forces that surround the area,” he said. “We are afraid perhaps in the future that even Djibouti may not have its own say to really decide on its own fate. This is quite a threat to Ethiopia.” Roba considers Lamu “an efficient” location to host an Ethiopian base. “The distance from inland Ethiopia will be countered by other benefits,” he said, without elaborating.

The plan to re-establish Ethiopia’s naval forces was announced by Abiy Ahmed, the country’s Prime Minister during a meeting with officials from Ethiopia National Defense Forces last week.

The ruling party-funded Fana Broadcasting Corporation quoting Ahmed said the country will put in place well design plan to form the naval forces.

 “Following the efforts made to build the capacity of our national defense, we built one of the stronger ground and air forces in Africa,” Fana Abiy as saying. “We should build our naval force capacity in the future.”

Landlocked Ethiopia, lost its access to the Red Sea nearly three decades ago leading to disband its navy in 1996, three years after Eritrea gained independence following a three-decade war.