EIB backs last-mile power connectivity in Kenya

27th March 2017 By: Terence Creamer - Creamer Media Editor

EIB backs last-mile power connectivity in Kenya

Photo by: Duane Daws

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed a €60-million loan agreement with Kenya to support an ongoing project designed to connecg 300 000 Kenyan households to the national electricity grid.

The loan for Kenya Power’s ‘Last Mile Connectivity’ project forms part of a “blended” €180-million European financing package, which also comprises a €90-million loan from the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and a €30-million grant from the European Union.

The loan agreement was signed in Nairobi at a function attended by Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for the Treasury Henry Rotich, EU Ambassador Stefano Dejak, French Ambassador Antoine Sivan, EIB VP Pim Van Ballekom and AFD regional director Bruno Deprince.

Van Ballekom, who is responsible for operations in East Africa, said the loan would ensure that up to 1.5-million people were connected to the electricity grid.

A letter of intent was also signed by EIB for the extension of the existing Olkaria I geothermal plant. The €113-million financing would support the addition of a 70 MW turbine, as well as the construction of wells, a steam gathering system and interconnection facilities.

In a separate letter of intent, the EIB pledged to finance the upgrade and widening of a 42 km access road to the Port of Mombasa. The road, which links Mombasa and Mariakani, will be improved to alleviate congestion, which causes delays for goods travelling through the port.

The project would be cofinanced by a concessional loan of €50-million approved by the German government and to be provided by KfW Development Bank, as well as an EU grant contribution and a loan from African Development Bank.