KenGen set to start Olkaria V construction before year end

KenGen expects the start of construction of the 140 MW Olkaria V project before the year end, according to the Managing Director of KenGen, Albert Mugo.

Speaking at an investor conference today, he said that the tendering process for Olkaria V should be concluded in June and expects that a contract for the construction of the plant can be signed in October. Construction could then start as early as at the end of this year.

Construction is to take around 30 months with KenGen having already secured about $410m for the project.

He said that the firm hoped to connect 720 MW of new power to the national grid in the next four years.

Mugo also lured the investors to invest more in the firm, saying its “dividend scheme” is “one of the most competitive, reliable and sustainable in the country.”

“With the country’s power demand expected to cross the 4,000 MW mark by 2020, success in the future is dependent on early planning and that is why we are asking shareholders to take up their rights at this time so that we can have enough capital for expansion,” he said.

KenGen, which is 70 percent owned by the government, has a current installed capacity of 1,617 MW, out of which 509 MW is from geothermal sources.

In December last year, KenGen fully put into use the 280 MW Olkaria geothermal power plant, one of the world’s largest single geothermal power plants.

Source: China.org