Kenya Electricity Generating Co., the East African nation's biggest power producer, signed a contract worth more than $1.3 billion for Sinclair Knight Merz Pty Ltd. to be consultants for the construction of facilities to provide 280 megawatts of geothermal power from underground hot springs.
"The scope of the project includes four 70-megawatt power generating machines, steam-gathering systems, substations, transmission lines and other infrastructure," Ken Gen Managing Director Edward Njoroge said.
Work will begin this month and take three years, Njoroge added. The geothermal power project, which will be Kenya's biggest, comprises two fields in Olkaria near the town of Naivasha, he said.
Geothermal power offers a cost effective, reliable, sustainable and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional power sources.
Kenya, East Africa's biggest economy, currently produces 166 megawatts of electricity from geothermal sources.
