A consortium that is tasked with the construction of a coal fired power plant in Kenya Amu power, has confirmed that the building of the plant in Lamu will commence next year in January.
Amu Power is a company formed by a consortium of Centum and Gulf Energy.
The community liaison officer for Amu power Aboud Sheikhalifa confirmed the reports and said that all plans are set and ready for construction to begin.
“The construction is slated to begin on January 15, 2016 and all the plans are in place to make sure that everything goes on as scheduled,” said Mr. Sheikhalifa.
The coal fired power plant in Kenya projected to cost US$ 1.7bn will be constructed in Kwasasi area in Lamu County and is anticipated to produce a third of Kenya’s electricity.
The power plant is also expected to produce 1,050MW of electricity and it will be the biggest single producer of electricity in Kenya.
“The country is currently producing about 2, 200MW of electricity, the coal fired power plant will produce half of that and the energy will be used to drive the economy,” said Sheikhalifa.
Currently a Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) for the residents of Kwasasi where the project will be built is underway.
Amu power, the company that was selected to carry out the project entered into a Public Private Partnership (PPP) with the government where it will implement the project for 25 years until they recover their investment after which the project will revert to the government.