New Delhi: Power Grid 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. "The project entails the development, financing, construction, and operation of the 400kV Lessos – Loosuk and 220kV 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," Power Grid said in an official press release on Wednesday.
"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," it added.
In this development partnership, Power Grid, one of the world's leading electric transmission utility companies 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.
Signing on behalf of Power Grid, Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) K Sreekant, said, "Power Grid is pleased to partner with Africa50 in undertaking the development of the first PPP mode transmission project in Kenya. Transmission plays an important role in bringing efficiency to the entire electricity supply chain. A robust transmission network not only imparts reliability and security to the electricity grid but also allows non-discriminatory access to buyers and sellers which spurs the competition that results in competitive electricity prices to the ultimate consumer. Power Grid hopes that the present transmission project in Kenya shall serve as a Model for undertaking more such projects in Kenya as well as other African countries. Power Grid with its rich technical and managerial experience in undertaking transmission systems under PPP mode shall be pleased to be associated in this journey."
Commenting on the signing, Africa50's CEO of Alain Ebobissé said, "We are very pleased to partner with the government of Kenya and Power Grid to implement this important and pioneering project in one of our shareholder countries. In the past few years, a lot of emphasis has been placed on attracting private investments in energy production infrastructure in Africa. It is time to also focus on catalysing private investment into the development of power transmission networks across Africa as these are a critical link to improving electricity access, especially in underserved communities."
In November 2019, Power Grid had signed a cooperation agreement with Africa50 for the development of transmission infrastructure in Kenya on a public-private partnership model (PPP model).
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