Kenya’s electricity distributor to locally source for materials

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electricity

Kenya’s electricity distributor on Monday called on local investors to manufacture electrical materials and reap 68 million U.S. dollars has been spending annually on overseas-sourced materials. electricity
The company’s CEO Ben Chumo said power utility is seeking to engage local manufacturers in procuring project materials within the country to create jobs and help minimise expenditure outflows.
“Kenya Power has a strong desire to have manufacturers investing locally to cut on long lead times involved in procuring overseas materials as well as create local business opportunities, ” Chumo told journalists in Nairobi during the annual Energy Management Awards ceremony hosted by Kenya Association of manufacturers (KAM).
Chumo said the company depends on overseas suppliers for materials ranging from major power equipment such as power transformers, electric cables, metering solutions, insulators and electricity management systems to accessories such as cut-outs, fuses and circuit breakers.
“In support of the government’s ‘buy Kenyan build Kenya’ plan, Kenya Power now procures its electricity poles (wooden and concrete) locally,” he said.
“It is a departure from the past when most of these were procured from such countries as South Africa and Tanzania. This move has seen over 40 local companies get involved in the treatment of wooden poles and production of concrete poles,” Chumo added.
Besides a ready market in East and Central Africa, said Chumo, demand for these items is expected to rise as the country accelerates the rate of connectivity to over 70 percent in the short term.
Chumo said Kenya Power is undertaking major power upgrade projects countrywide and also implementing slum electrification and street lighting programmes on behalf of the government.
“These will require a lot of materials and therefore investors willing to set up manufacturing plants in Kenya for these materials stand to gain significantly now and in a foreseeable future,” he added. Enditem

Source: Xinhua

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