The construction of three three steam power plants at the Menengai fields are set to start following a a Sh114.9 million deal between the Geothermal Development Company (GDC) and the forests regulator.
Kenya Forest Service (KFS) has been paid the Sh114.9 million, backdated to 2014, because it owns the Menengai geothermal site where GDC is drilling steam wells and has already contracted three companies to build power plants.
The building of the three power plants under a build–own–operate (BOT) model — each with a capacity of 35 megawatts — has suffered multiple delays attributed to land acquisition headwinds.
“We have now concluded the lease agreement and paid. We are now issuing sub-leases to the power producers,” said Johnson Ole Nchoe, chief executive at GDC.