KenGen Hydroelectric Plant Nears Commercial Operation

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, TX)--Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) will soon add 60 megawatts (MW) to its generation fleet with commercial operations of the Sondu Miriu hydroelectric plant in Nyanza Province, about 60 kilometers south of Kisumu alongside Lake Victoria, scheduled to begin next month. The $145 million project, which initially started construction in March 1999, was halted in May 2002 due to financing issues. Construction restarted in May 2004.

Once operational, the 60-MW hydroelectric station (consisting of two 30-MW Francis turbines) will provide much needed additional electrical generation and irrigation to about five major areas for crops and livestock. The majority of the civil construction for this project was performed by a consortium of Konoike Construction JV, Viedekke Heavy Construction Company of Norway and Murray & Roberts Contractors International of South Africa. The consultants for this project were Nippon Koei Company of Tokyo, Japan. The Japan Bank of International Cooperation (JBIC) was the financing entity behind the project.

In February, it was announced that the JBIC will once again come to the aid of KenGen by supplying more than 75% of the $58 million needed for the 21.2-MW Sangoro hydroelectric project, which is being built downstream from the Sondu Miriu project . Construction will commence sometime in the first part of next year and will take approximately three years to complete. KenGen officials said in September's inaugural filling ceremony at the Sondu Miriu site that the addition of 60 MW in December and the construction of the 21.2 MW Sangoro project will assist the company in reaching its 500-MW additional capacity goal by 2012.

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