By Argwings Owiti
The Kenya Electricity Transmission Company’s (KETRACO) ground-breaking power transmission Public Private Partnership (PPP) deal, signed on 15th December 2025, brought together leading global and Pan-African partners whose combined strengths are set to support one of Kenya’s most significant infrastructure projects, adding a total of 620 kV of high-voltage transmission capacity to the national grid.
At the heart of the transaction is Africa50, a Pan-African infrastructure investment platform backed by 33 African governments, two African central banks, the African Development Bank Group, and the Public Investment Corporation of South Africa. Africa50 specializes in developing and investing in bankable infrastructure projects that promote economic growth and regional integration across the continent.
Partnering with Africa50 in the deal is Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (POWERGRID), one of the world’s largest power transmission utilities, responsible for transmitting more than 50 per cent of India’s electricity and for designing, building, and maintaining high-voltage substations. POWERGRID will play a key role in the project by contributing its extensive technical expertise in high-voltage system design, construction, and operations.
The partnership between Africa50 and POWERGRID did not start yesterday. According to a statement on Africa50’s website, the two organizations signed a Joint Development Agreement in January 2022 to develop Kenya’s transmission project on a PPP basis, recognizing the need to mobilize both investment and technical capacity to expand power transmission infrastructure on the continent. This aligned with KETRACO’s goal of ensuring grid stability through enhanced transmission infrastructure.
The transaction, valued at USD 311 million (about KES 40.4 billion), covers two high-voltage transmission corridors: the 400 kV Lessos-Loosuk line, which traverses Nandi and Samburu counties, and the 220 kV Kibos-Kakamega-Musaga line, which extends high-voltage grid capacity into Western Kenya. These lines, together with new substations and grid connections, are designed to improve power system reliability, reduce technical losses, and support the integration of renewable energy into the national grid.
Under the arrangement, the Africa50-POWERGRID consortium will design, finance, construct, operate, and maintain the two transmission lines and their associated substations over a 30year concession period, with KETRACO making performancelinked availability payments.
According KETRACO disclosures, the two new high-voltage lines once completed, will allow electricity rerouting if there’s a fault or maintenance activity, helping to keep power flowing and reduce interruptions for homes, businesses, and essential services across beneficiary regions for overall national power grid stability.
Besides the transmission lines, the project will involve the construction of new substations at Loosuk, Lessos, Kibos, Kakamega, and Musaga, enhancing the transmission network’s stability. These substations will manage power flows, protect equipment, and support growing power demand within the industrial, commercial, and residential sectors of the economy.
