Completion of Kenya-Tanzania Power Interconnection Project to delay

Completion of the Kenya-Tanzania Power Interconnection Project is set to face delays. African Development Bank (AfDB) noted the challenge and attributed it to delays in the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (Ketraco) to compensate families along the power line to Tanzania.

According to the bank in its project review, Ketraco is yet to pay affected families US $486,426 in return blocking completion of works.

“The 400 kV transmission line portion from Isinya to Namanga Kenya-Tanzania border post is nearly complete apart from the stringing activities heavily slowed down due to the lack of adequate financial resources on the part of Ketraco for the compensation and resettlement of project affected persons. Both the Development Objective and Implementation Progress are satisfactory although the completion and commissioning of the facilities are not expected until Quarter Four of 2023 due to the lack of adequate counterpart financing,” AfDB said.

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Development objective

The Kenya-Tanzania Power Interconnection Project’s ultimate development objective is to improve the supply, reliability and affordability of electricity in the Eastern Africa region through cross-border exchanges of cheap and cleaner surplus power from neighboring countries.

The US $ 309M project involves the construction of a high voltage alternating current (HVAC) 400 kV transmission line (T-line) with a total length of 507.5 km, of which about 414.4 km are located in Tanzania and 93.1 km in Kenya.

In Tanzania, the project includes the construction of a 400 kV substation in Arusha and the extension of the existing Singida substation. In Kenya, the project does not involve any works related to substations. Indeed, the substation outgoing bay in Isinya is part of the existing Nairobi Reinforcement Project which is currently under construction.

The proposed interconnection line, to be connected to the Ethiopia-Kenya transmission system through the Isinya – Suswa 400 kV line, is part of the Eastern Africa Electricity Highway with a transfer capacity of 2,000 MW. As such, it will be the major link for power transfer between the Eastern Africa Power Pool and countries in the North such as Sudan and Egypt.  Ketraco has so far built 68% of the line by the end of last year.