The Isinya–Singida High Voltage Power Line is a

high voltage High voltage electricity refers to electrical potential large enough to cause injury or damage. In certain industries, ''high voltage'' refers to voltage above a certain threshold. Equipment and conductors that carry high voltage warrant spec ...

electricity power line, under construction, connecting the high voltage substation at

Isinya Isinya is a town in Kajiado County, Kenya. Isinya, located at -1.67 latitude, 36.85 longitude, is 58 km south of Nairobi and 19 km north of Kajiado, the capital of the district. The town of Isinya is situated along the Nairobi-Arush ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

to another high voltage substation at

Singida Singida is a town in central Tanzania. The town is the location of the regional headquarters of Singida Region as well as the district headquarters of Singida Urban District. The region and district are named after the town. Transport Road lin ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

Location

The power line starts at Isinya, in

Kajiado County Kajiado County is a county in the former Rift Valley Province of Kenya. As of 2019, Kajiado county spanned an area of 21,292.7 km2, with a recorded population of 1,117,840. The county borders Nairobi and to its south it borders the Tanzan ...

, about south of

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

, and runs in a southerly direction for approximately to the border with

Namanga Namanga is a town divided by the Tanzania-Kenya border. It is in Longido District, Tanzania and Kajiado County, Kenya. It is around 110 kilometers from Arusha, Tanzania. Namanga's economy has been heavily dependent on tourism since 2004 as touri ...

. At Namanga the power line crosses into Tanzania and follows a southerly direction to

Arusha Arusha City is a Tanzanian city and the regional capital of the Arusha Region, with a population of 416,442 plus 323,198 in the surrounding Arusha District Council (2012 census). Located below Mount Meru on the eastern edge of the eastern bran ...

, a distance of about from Namanga. From Arusha the line travels in a south-westerly direction for about to end at Singida. According to the

African Development Bank The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) or (BAD) is a multilateral development finance institution headquartered in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, since September 2014. The AfDB is a financial provider to African governments and private companies i ...

, of the line are located in Kenya and are located in Tanzania, for total length of .

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 The Eastern Africa Power Pool (EAPP), is a collaborative effort by eleven countries in Eastern Africa to interconnect their electricity grids and take advantage of excess capacity within the network and facilitate trade of electric power betwee ...

to which both Kenya and Tanzania belong, and the

Southern African Power Pool The Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) is a cooperation of the national electricity companies in Southern Africa under the auspices of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The members of SAPP have created a common power grid betwe ...

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 2017, Ketraco, the Kenyan electricity transportation monopoly awarded the construction contract for a 400kV substation at Isinya and the 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 of double circuit high tension power lines, from

, through Arusha to Singida, a 400kV substation in Arusha and another 400kV substation in Singida. The work is budgeted at US$258.82 million. The section between Singida and

Babati Babati, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is a town in Babati Urban District of Manyara Region of Tanzania. It is the administrative capital of Babati Urban District and Babati Rural District and also the administrative capit ...

was contracted to ''Kalpataru Power Transmission Limited'' of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The Babati to Arusha section was contracted to ''Bouygues Energies & Services'' of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Kenya is expected to establish a 400kV connection to

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

, while Tanzania is expected to establish a similar 400kV connection to

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

. This will enable seamless power sales between the four countries.

References

External links