NAIROBI (Xinhua) --
Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday
commissioned one of the energy projects that feeds into his
four-point legacy agenda of driving manufacturing through
cheaper and high quality power in Nairobi.
The president who is
on his second and final five year term has set to nearly double
the growth of manufacturing sector, provide new affordable
houses, provide universal health insurance and support farmers
to increase food yield in the next five years under the Big Four
Agenda.
Kenyatta
commissioned the City Centre 220KV Gas Insulated Sub-Station
that will enable the country’s manufacturing hub of Industrial
Area in Nairobi, the entire city including Nairobi’s financial
district of Upper Hill to get uninterrupted high quality
electricity.
“This project will
greatly improve the quality of power in Nairobi’s City Centre,
serving the Industrial area, Mombasa road, Upperhill, the entire
Central Business District (CBD), Lower hill and Kilimani area,”
Kenyatta said.
The substation, will
handle the power coming from the Olkaria Geothermal Power
Station and will create an alternative power chain for the city.
The project is being
implemented by TBEA of China at a cost of 132 U.S. million
dollars, funded by the Exim Bank of China through a twenty-year
concessional loan.
“It therefore
creates additional contingency in electricity supply thus
enhancing the reliability of power in this area,” he added.
Kenyatta said the
improvement of power supply in the city is aimed at creating a
conducive environment for business and industry so that they can
in turn create more jobs for Kenyans.
“This initiative
feeds into one of the key pillars of the Big Four Agenda,
enhancing manufacturing, to create quality jobs for Kenyans,”
said Kenyatta. |