A Chinese consortium of companies led by China Communications Construction Company has won a $484m contract to build the first three berths at the new mega port in Lamu, the start of East Africa's biggest infrastructure project.

The Kenyan government is running a $25.5bn project to link landlocked South Sudan and Ethiopia to the Indian Ocean port of Lamu by constructing a major highway, a railway and an oil pipeline. Much of the African exports will be heading to China.

Lamu port will have 32 berths when the whole project is complete in 2030.