The construction of a high-voltage power transmission line connecting Ethiopia and Kenya has run into problems, with a group of conservationists and environmentalists opposing its implementation on the basis that it would hurt the lucrative tourism industry in Kenya.

The Laikipia Wildlife Forum (LWF) umbrella body, which is opposed to the $1.2-billion project, contends that the proposed route of the line on the Kenyan side would destroy the “unique wilderness experience” on which wildlife tourism depends.

LWF executive director Mordecai Ogada says at least 120 km of the 612 km stretch on the Kenyan side would pass through land that supports some of the most diverse wildlife populations in Kenya. The 500 kV transmission line covers a total distance of 1 045 km.

“Tourism stakeholders are concerned that the proposed route will destroy the unique wilderness experience on which wildlife tourism depends. This will result in the loss of thousands of jobs and millions of dollars generated by tourism and undermine future economic development opportunities.”

He adds that detailed research has shown that, if the project is implemented along the proposed route, at least 1 000 jobs will be affected if tourism becomes unviable in the area.

Tourism is a key sector in Kenya, accounting for 13% of the country’s gross domestic product, and is a major foreign exchange earner. Last year, the sector earned $1.1-billion.

Opposition to the project comes at a time when authorities in Ethiopia and Kenya are in the process of tendering for a contractor to undertake the design, supply, installation, testing and commissioning of the transmission line, which will facilitate power trade.

The transmission line, dubbed the Eastern Electricity Highway Project, will run from Wolayita Sodo, in Ethiopia, to Suswa, in Kenya, and is being spearheaded by the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation and the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company.

Funding for the line has been secured from the World Bank, the French Agency for Development and the African Development Bank.

According to Ogada, the government of Kenya has not conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the line’s socioeconomic and environmental impacts.

Despite opposition to the project, the authorities in Ethiopia and Kenya are adamant that the line is crucial to the long-term development of the two neighbours.