Kenya is set to revive a 64-year-old Gogo Hydropower Plant in Migori County. The move follows Germany signing a financing agreement to modernize and expand the facility.
Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi who confirmed the report said the project expected to stimulate economic growth in Western Kenya. The deal includes a US $40.7M concessional loan from the German government and a US $23.2M grant from the European Union (EU).
The project once upgraded will raise capacity from the current 2MW to 8.6 MW. CS John Mbadi noted that the upgrade is long overdue, as the plant commissioned in 1958 by the Macalder Mining Company has struggled to meet present-day power demand. Kenya Electricity Generating Company PLC (KenGen) is the current operator.
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Scope of work
The redevelopment will involve desilting the dam, raising its level by 1.5 meters, building a new powerhouse with two vertical turbine generators, constructing a new 66/33 kV substation, and installing a 29.9 km transmission line linking the facility to the Awendo Substation. Additional works include a new intake structure and water tunnel. Completion is projected within 30 to 36 months.
According to Mbadi, the upgraded plant will help stabilize electricity supply in Migori and neighboring counties, where households, small enterprises, and industries have long faced outages and low capacity. It also aligns with the government’s plan to decentralize industrial growth beyond Nairobi and Mombasa.
European Union Ambassador to Kenya Henriette Geiger welcomed the deal, emphasizing the need for fast implementation so communities can feel the benefits quickly. The Gogo project adds to Kenya’s growing renewable energy portfolio, which already supplies more than 70% of the country’s electricity through geothermal, wind, solar, and hydropower.
