The government has received financing from the African Development Bank (AfDB) toward the cost of the implementation of the Last Mile Connectivity Project III to power thousands of households to the national grid.
Kenya Power confirmed that the grant will go a long way to enable the provision of electricity access to approximately 150,001 connections, including households, public institutions, and micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises across 45 counties in Kenya.
"The Government of Kenya has received financing from the African Development Bank toward the cost of the implementation of the sixth phase of the Last Mile Connectivity Project. The funding will go a long way to boost the ongoing national electrification efforts and accelerate the attainment of universal access to electricity by the year 2030," stated Kenya Power's Managing Director & CEO, Joseph Siror.
The approval of the third round comes just a few days after President William Ruto hosted the AfDB President, Akinwumi Adesina, on March 17.
During the first and second phases of the project, a total of 536,077 customers were connected to the grid, reinforcing the government's goal of increasing the power coverage in the country.
The money from the AfDb will additionally be used for system reinforcements as well as grid extensions, going a long way to help the government bridge the funding crisis on the ageing infrastructure.
This will involve the construction and refurbishment of 13 substations (construction of three 33/11 KV new substations, refurbishment and upgrade of three 33/11 KV substations, and construction of seven new 33 kV new switching stations).
Furthermore, the project will entail the construction of 211 kilometres and 14 kilometres of 33 KV and 11KV distribution lines, respectively, to boost the social infrastructure to serve education, healthcare, and water and sanitation.
Since the inception of the Last Mile Connectivity Project in 2015, so far, Kenya Power has connected 746,867 customers to the national grid.
The essential service provider is currently implementing the fourth and fifth phases of the LMCP, which seek to connect an additional 280,000 and 11,000 new customers to the grid, respectively.
Apart from the African Development Bank, the LMCP has also been funded by various lenders, including the World Bank, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the French Development Agency (AFD), the European Union (EU), and the European Investment Bank (EIB).
In May last year, Kenya received a Ksh4.3 billion grant from the World Bank to fund the Last Mile Connectivity Project.
This was after negotiations between Kenya, the World Bank, and the European Union, which later also became a subject of discussion during Ruto's trip to the US.
