From Reuters Africa

Kenya plans to add 500 megawatts (MW) of electricity to the national grid from natural gas deposits, the energy minister said on Tuesday, taking steps to address chronic power shortages that critics say have discouraged investments.

Davis Chirchir said the government was also considering a second attempt to seek bids for the construction of a 700 MW liquefied natural gas power plant near the port city of Mombasa.

Firms who tendered last year for the LNG plant, initially estimated to cost $500 million, failed to meet the government’s requirements for the project, and the tender process collapsed in August.

East Africa’s largest economy is struggling with ageing energy infrastructure and the government has said that, in all, it plans to add 5,000 MW to the existing 1,664 MW of generation capacity by 2017.

Read more at Reuters Africa