Kenya Power seeks bids for power lines

power distributor kenya power and lighting company invited bids for the construction of 883 kilometres of power lines around the country.

kplc said in a newspaper advertisement on tuesday various lengths of 11 kv, 33 kv and low-voltage lines were expected to be laid in the western and central parts of the country, as well as in the nairobi and coast regions.

the work is estimated to be completed within 24 months of awarding bids in february 2011, kplc said.

kplc is working with state-owned kenya electricity transmission company (ketraco) to improve power lines and increase the supply and quality of electricity, aiming to meet rising demand to drive economic growth.

ketraco said in october east africa's largest economy planned to construct some 1,800 km of high voltage lines in the next four years to increase access to power.

kplc said the government will provide funding for the projects after receiving additional money from the world bank for the country's energy sector recovery project.

kplc is also raising additional capital through a rights issue, projecting to raise 9.5 billion shillings ($117.8 million) to upgrade its network.