NAIROBI: Kenya and Tanzania are seeking potential bidders for the construction of approximately 510km of 400kV power lines to enable power trade between the countries.
Comprising construction of several substations, the Kenya-Tanzania power interconnection project aims to enhance supply, reliability and affordability of electricity through cross-border exchanges of cheap and cleaner surplus power from neighboring countries.
The bidders are expected to submit their bids for the project construction by 9 September, Kenya’s Daily Nation newspaper reported.
The tender did not disclose the amount of the project, which will be provided by African Development Fund (ADF) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
In February 2015, African Development Bank (AfDB) has announced its plan to provide $145m to fund the construction of the Kenya-Tanzania power interconnection project to improve regional power connections.
By 2017, Kenya has set a target to increase its installed capacity from current 2,500MW to about 6,700MW as well as build 5,000km of power lines to complement its existing 3,800km network.
In three or four years, the country also intends to reduce bills from around $0.17-0.18 per kWh. The country primarily depends on renewable energy such as geothermal and hydro. Tanzania is planning to increase its power generation capacity to 3,000MW by 2016.
