Olsuswa Energy owner Manga Mugwe. file photo | nmg
Olsuswa Energy, the company owned by Kanu era tycoon Manga
Mugwe, has received a grant totalling $980,000 (about Sh101.5 million)
from the African Union Commission (AUC), towards the development of its
Turkana geothermal power plant.
Mr Manga, the Olsuswa
Energy director and the chairman of Mayfox Mining—currently prospecting
for gold and other precious metals in Turkana—said in a statement the
funds will go towards co-funding the development of the 140MW geothermal
project.
Olsuswa Energy is seeking to construct a
power plant over five to eight years for transmission into the national
grid. The total cost of the project stands at $420 million (about Sh43.5
billion). AUC, through its Department of Infrastructure and Energy, and
Olsuswa Energy signed the grant contract for financial support this
week.
The funds will be used to conduct a surface study
and infrastructure upgrade programme at the Barrier volcanic complex
located in Turkana County.
The geothermal field is one
of the prospects in the Rift Valley and is situated south of the lake.
The area covers 136 square kilometres. It separates Lake Turkana from
the Suguta Valley.
The
project’s capital is expected to be in the form of debt from
development banks and other institutions, according to Olsuswa Energy.
The
energy firm earlier said it expected to begin exploration in the first
quarter of last year with drilling to start this year.
On
Thursday, it was not immediately clear whether the project which had
earlier faced some headwinds, had resolved permit issues with the
Turkana County government.
A Turkana County official
had accused Olsuswa Energy of seeking to exploit geothermal resources
without signing a memorandum of understanding with the county
government, which stalled the project.
The company had earlier said the first phase of 70MW would start operating in 2022.
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