According to African media, western powers are leading an emerging scramble for Kenya’s multi-billion energy generation, transmission and distribution projects under an ambitious plan aimed at connecting all homes to electricity by 2022.
Kenya has opened the door for international investors and financiers to tap into business opportunities that come with the Jubilee administration’s goal of connecting every household to electricity through expansion of the power grid and promoting off-grid sources such as solar plants, reports Business Daily.
The investment projects presented by the plan to achieve universal access to electricity are estimated at $14.8 billion under the Electricity Sector Investment Prospectus (2018-2022).
Among projects identified under Kenya’s investment prospectus are transmission lines of various sizes as well as wind, hydropower and geothermal generation.
European and American firms, which have in the past decade lost to Chinese contractors on major infrastructure deals, already control significant stakes in recently launched LTWP wind farm in Marsabit, the largest wind farm in Africa, and the Menengai Geothermal Power Station (under construction), projects which have catapulted the country to being among leading producers of renewable energy in Africa.
Source: Business Daily