NAIROBI, Kenya, August 19th -The regeneration infrastructure work for the 64-year-old Gogo Hydro Power Plant in Uriri, Migori County, aimed at enhancing power capacity from 2MW to 8.6MW, is set to begin soon for a Sh5,285,700,000 (€35 million) sovereign loan from the German government.
The five-year initiative follows the signing of an agreement between Kenya and the European Union (EU) which also includes a Sh3,030,400,000 (€20 million) grant for Gogo and three other renewable energy projects.
Under the EU’s Green Resilient Electricity System Programme (GRES), this will support energy infrastructure development geared towards enabling major industrial investments in the greater Western Kenya region, and the country at large.
The project will also include geothermal power, grid expansion, modernisation, development and upgrades.
The National Treasury and Economic Planning Cabinet Secretary, CS John Mbadi, said that the noble GRES program will solve the persistent power outage and stimulate economic growth.
“One of the main reasons why we don’t have many industries in the Western Kenya region is due to a lack of reliable power supply or connection,” CS Mbadi said during the ceremony at the Treasury building in Nairobi yesterday.
He added that alternative power sources such as solar and generator installations have proved to be costly- which has seen many companies shun the region.
Coupled with improved road network and market availability, CS Mbadi pointed out that the GRES program will unlock various potential like agriculture, especially sugarcane production.
EU Ambassador to Kenya Henriette Geiger and her German counterpart Sebastian Groth said that they are proud to support this ambitious project to tap into the region’s vast potential in tourism and trade volumes along the Kenya-Tanzania (Migori border point).
“The EU has been a supporter of Sustainable Energy in Kenya and its goals in achieving a 100 percent Greening Program by 2030. Green energy production in Kenya is one of the best in the world,” they said while adding that it is a similar concept they’re we are pursuing in the Western Kenya region.
Connecting fragile grids between counties to the national grid will greatly strengthen the system as a network and stabilise it.
They also reiterated their commitment to very strongly favouring devolution development in the country to hasten its goal of attaining its middle-income status.
To ease access to transacting business in the South Nyanza region, CS Mbadi, said that the government will also expand Kabunde airstrip runway to over 500 metres and upgrade Migori airstrip.
He acknowledged that the country is struggling to meet its energy needs and this calls for more power generation.
“Our target as a country is to deal with three components of Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution which are vital for industrial take off,” CS Mbadi said.
