The Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation (REREC), which was established as the successor of the Rural Electrification Authority (REA), a public body whose mandate was to accelerate the pace of rural electrification in Kenya, is set to begin the Electrification of Public Facilities Project (EPFP) following a groundbreaking ceremony held in Charendende, a town in Tana River.
Also Read:Â Plans for Construction of 300 MW Wind Farm in Bubisa, Kenya, Revived
Targeting 131 constituencies in 35 counties, the close to US$ 57M project will be implemented in five lots i.e. Nyanza and Western region, North Rift, South Rift, Central and Upper Eastern, Lower Eastern, and Coast regions.
Expectations for the Electrification of Public Facilities Project (EPFP)
Speaking at the ceremony, Kenya’s Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Monica Juma said that the Electrification of Public Facilities Project contractors have been given strict instructions to complete the works before June 2022.
The project will see the electrification of 1200 public facilities including market centers, health centers, educational institutions, tea buying centers, coffee factories, and administration centers among others.
It will also provide electricity to 35,460 households which translates into 7,000 households in each of the five aforementioned lots.
Funding for the project
To facilitate the Electrification of Public Facilities Project, the Government of the East African Country secured credit financing from its Arab Development Partners including Arab Bank for Economic Development for Africa (BADEA), OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID), Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) and the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD).
While thanking the Arab Development Partners for providing funds to support this project the chairman of the REREC board of director’s Prof Simon Gicharu said that the Corporation has aligned its activities with the national economic development blueprint, Vision 2030, and the Government’s Big 4 initiative that emphasizes on specific targets in manufacturing, food security, affordable housing and healthcare for all by the year 2022.
