The deal reflects Kenya’s growing reliance on public-private partnerships and the securitisation of certain revenue streams to fund major infrastructure projects amid high public debt and tight fiscal space.
Under the agreement, Africa50 — a Morocco-based infrastructure fund largely owned by African states — will collaborate with PowerGrid to design, finance, construct, and operate the transmission lines and associated substations. Africa50 stated that the project company will manage the full lifecycle of the infrastructure over a 30-year concession period.
“The two lines will unlock cleaner, affordable, and more reliable power for millions of Kenyans,” the fund said, noting the project’s potential to enhance system stability, reduce technical losses, curb load shedding, and facilitate the integration of renewable energy.
Kenya Electricity Transmission Company Limited (KETRACO), a state-owned firm, will serve as the contracting entity. While the precise investment breakdown and expected increase in transmission capacity remain unclear, the project aims to address past nationwide blackouts caused by demand-driven overloads.
Kenya’s government, led by President William Ruto, has increasingly turned to private-sector partnerships to expand infrastructure without imposing new taxes, as traditional financing options have been constrained by public debt. Critics, however, have raised concerns that such deals could expose the state to additional liabilities through opaque contractual terms — concerns that the government has rejected.
An earlier attempt to develop new power transmission lines with India’s Adani Group was cancelled last year following the indictment of the company’s founder in the United States.