The African Development Bank (AfDB) has expressed worry over Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (Ketracofailure )'s to reimburse residents along the power line to Tanzania on time.
According to the AfDB, Ketraco has failed to compensate impacted families Ksh64.719 million ($486,426) to complete the Kenyan side of the line.
In its project evaluation for the 507.5-kilometer power line, the bank stated that Kenya's Treasury, Ministry of Energy, and Ketraco should expedite compensation to finish the line by December 31, 2023.
The line, expected to have a transfer capacity of 2,000 megawatts, would allow the two nations to exchange electricity, mostly hydropower and renewable energy, and reduce dependency on thermal plants for a reliable and inexpensive supply.
“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,” AfDB said.
“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.”
According to these documents, Ketraco had completed 68% of the line by the end of last year. The AfDB and the Japanese International Cooperation Agency are financing the $309.26 million project.
The connection would assist the two nations in reducing the need for coal plants, which are largely seen as fulfilling the predicted demand growth in the two economies, particularly Kenya.