Power Grid Corporation Of India To Develop Africa's First Transmission PPP Project In Kenya

Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (POWERGRID) has signed a Joint Development Agreement with Africa50, the pan-African infrastructure investment platform, to continue to develop the Kenya Transmission Project on a public-private partnership basis, an official release said on Wednesday (12 January).

The project entails the development, financing, construction, and operation of the 400 kV Lessos–Loosuk and 220 kV Kisumu–Musaga transmission lines under a public-private partnership (PPP) framework.

"Once completed, the project will be the first Independent Power Transmission (IPT) in Kenya and will set a reference point in Africa as the first financing of transmission lines on a PPP basis," the Ministry of Power said in a release.

This project will also improve both the supply and reliability of power transmission in Western Kenya and further create a demonstration effect to help increase private sector investments into the expansion of Africa’s power transmission networks, which is critical to bridging the continent’s electricity access gap.

In this development partnership, POWERGRID will provide technical and operational know-how to the project, while Africa50 will bring its project development and finance expertise and will act as a bridge between the Kenyan government and private investors.

The signing of this agreement underscores POWERGRID and Africa50’s commitment to continue to dedicate resources to accelerate development activities on the project until financial close, the ministry said.