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NAIROBI. — The government of Kenya has opened bids placed by 62 companies hoping to win the tender to construct and generate an additional 1 660 megawatts of power from coal and liquefied natural gas in the next 30 and 24 months respectively, under the independent power production agreement.

The government now has two weeks to evaluate the 62 bids after which the shortlisted companies will have 72 days to respond.
This move by government is in anticipation that electricity demand will rise as the county governments take shape with numerous economic activities springing up in the counties.

So far the government has promised to generate an additional capacity of 5 000MW by 2016 from the current 1 664MW. The coal project will be carried out Lamu with an expected capacity of 960MW, while the generation from the liquefied natural gas will be located in Mombasa at Dongo-Kundu, with an expected output of 700MW.

Speaking at an earlier date, chief geologist at the Ministry of Energy John Omenge said that the government is trying to do is to provide the right environment for investors.

“We are now inviting the private sector to come and produce power. Our job will now be to provide the right environment for the investors,” he said.

He added that the intention is to bring down the cost of power over time to attract industries and make Kenya a least cost destination for doing business. “The government is moving away from power generation to allow private sector firms do the work,” he told CAJ News.

He said the state would only concentrate on developing infrastructure for evacuating, transmitting and distributing power such as substations and high voltage lines. — CAJ News.