Kenya and Ethiopia are finally set to embark on the construction of a high- voltage transmission line that will facili-tate power trade between the two neighbours.

This comes after the authorities published a tender for a contractor to undertake the design, supply, installation, testing and commissioning of the 1 045 km 500 kV transmission line.

The project, dubbed the Eastern Electricity Highway Project, has a price tag of $1.2-billion and is intended to enable energy-deficient Kenya to import electricity from Ethiopia, which is investing heavily in electricity gen-eration plants.

The line, which will run from Wolayita Sodo, in Ethiopia, to Suswa, in Kenya, will be administered by the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation and the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (Ketraco).

“We have secured funding from development partners and now we want to bring a con- tractor on board and commence the imple-mentation of the project,” says John Mativo, head of technical services at Ketraco.

The project has been subdivided into five lots. Lots 1 and 2 will be on the Ethiopian side and will cover a distance of 433 km, while lots 3, 4 and 5 will be on the Kenyan side and will cover a distance of 612 km. Implementation of the project is expected to take 36 months.

When completed, the line will enable Kenya to import 400 MW of electricity from Ethiopia from 2016.

Already the two countries have finalised a deal that will see Kenya import the electricity at a cost of 0.0084c/kWh for a period of not less than 30 years.

Kenya, East Africa’s biggest economy, decided to import electricity from Ethiopia to cover electricity shortfalls emanating from a huge disparity between supply and demand, which has presented serious obstacles to the implementation of the country’s long-term growth masterplan, Vision 2030.

“Energy shortages and supply disruptions, coupled with high costs, remain serious obstacles to economic activity,” states the coun- try’s recently developed National Energy Policy.

For its part, Ethiopia is investing heavily in generation projects, with several hydro and wind projects currently being under con-struction.
These include the Grand Renaissance dam, with capacity to generate 5 250 MW, the Gibe III dam, with a capacity of 1 800 MW, and the Ashegoda wind farm, which will generate 120 MW.

The country hopes to become a net exporter of electricity to neighbouring nations. Besides Kenya, Ethiopia has also entered into agreements to supply 200 MW to Djibouti and 200 MW to Sudan.

The Ethiopia–Kenya line is being financed by the World Bank ($684-million), the French Agency for Development ($273-million) and the African Development Bank ($231-million).