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ACCIONA Industrial is to design and build two high-tension power lines on the coast of Kenya, measuring a total of 177 kilometres, plus a number of substations.
The two contracts have been signed with HOMT España as part of the project worth over 40 million euros that the latter is executing for Kenya Electricity Transmission Company Limited (KETRACO).
The first contract is for the construction of a 71.6-kilometre 132 kV power line between Rabal and Kilifi, plus construction of a new substation and expansion of another three; the second contract covers construction of a 106-kilometre 132 kV power line between Voi and Taveta, the construction of a new substation and expansion of an existing substation. The execution period is 22 months.
The Voi-Taveta project seeks to enhance electricity supply to the incipient agriculture and tourism industries around Tsavo East National Park and to expand power exchanges with Tanzania. The Rabal-Kilifi project is to enhance power supplies to the cement plants and tourism complexes in the Mombasa-Kilifi area. The owner and user of the new infrastructure will be KETRACO (Kenyan Electricity Transmission Company).
'Kenya is a strategic market for HOMT España, and the company has been operating there for some years. We are confident that this agreement with ACCIONA Industrial will enable us to achieve the goals of this project and it is an excellent opportunity to continue contributing to enhance the region's infrastructure,' said Stéphane Terranova, CEO - Operations at HOMT España.
'This project will help meet demand for electricity in those regions of Kenya and represents further progress in ACCIONA Industrial's bid to develop sustainable infrastructure,' said Miguel Ángel Acosta, head of T&D and Installations at ACCIONA Industrial.
ACCIONA has over 20 years' experience in designing and building power transmission networks and substations, ranging from low-tension facilities up to 400 kV lines and substations in a number of countries. In the last 12 years, it has executed over 38 projects in Spain and 35 in other countries.
Some of its current projects include a contract with Mexico's Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) to design and build a 117-kilometre electrical grid to carry electricity from the Empalme II combined cycle power plant to the states of Sonora and Sinaloa. That network will have five 500 kV substations, one of which will use GIS technology. Another notable project is the construction of the power offtake line for the Topolobampo III combined cycle power plant, involving four separate design and construction jobs: two transmission lines and two substations, in the states of Sinaloa and Sonora. The two power lines, at voltages of 400 kV and 230 kV, will measure 276 kilometres in total, and the two substations will operate at those voltages. This turnkey project was adjudicated to ACCIONA Industrial for 24.5 million USD (about 21 million euros).