General direction North to South | ||
Partners African Development Bank | ||
The Isinya–Singida High Voltage Power Line is a proposed high voltage electricity power line connecting the high voltage substation at Isinya, Kenya to another high voltage substation at Singida, Tanzania.
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Location
The power line will start at Isinya, in Kajiado County, about 58 kilometres (36 mi) south of Nairobi, and run in a southerly direction for approximately 98 kilometres (61 mi) to the border with Tanzania at Namanga.
At Namanga the power line will cross into Tanzania and follow a southerly direction to Arusha, a distance of about 95 kilometres (59 mi) from Namanga. From Arusha the line will travel in a south-westerly direction for about 266 kilometres (165 mi) to end at Singida. According to the African Development Bank, 93.1 kilometres (58 mi) of the line are located in Kenya and 414.5 kilometres (258 mi) are located in Tanzania, for total length of 507.6 kilometres (315 mi).
Overview
As far back as 2015, Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia began to explore the amount of electricity that can be moved along high voltage power lines linking the three countries. The objective was to exchange electricity between the Eastern Africa power pool to which both Kenya and Tanzania belong, and the Southern Africa power pool to which Tanzania ad Zambia belong. Each country would build and maintain the infrastructure within its borders Kenya and Tanzania sought a joint consultant to advise of the project. A joint Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) in both countries was carried out in 2014, funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB).
Construction in Kenya
In October 2018, Ketraco, the Kenyan electricity transportation monopoly awarded the construction contract for a 400kV substation at Isinya and the 96 kilometres (60 mi) 400kV high tension line from Isinya to Namanga, to North China Power Engineering Company Limited (NCPE). The work will be jointly financed by Kenyan government at US$4.25 million and the AfDB which will offer US$22.42 million in loans. Construction is expected to take 22 months.
Construction in Tanzania
The work in Tanzania involves the construction of approximately 415 kilometres (258 mi) of double circuit high tension power lines, from Namanga, through Arusha to Singida, a 400kV substation in Arusha and another 400kV substation in Singida. The work is budgeted at US$258.82 million.