China and America join hands to make Lamu coal belt
The Americans have put in skin into the coal power plant in Lamu with Sh50 billion deal that may pave way for a quarter stake at Amu Power.
Amu Power said the agreement with General Electric will see the American firm through its affiliates acquire a stake in the equity of Amu Power, subject to obtaining regulatory, board and lenders approval.
Under the Agreement, GE Power will design, manufacture and deliver its market-leading Ultra Super-Critical clean coal technology components (boiler and steam turbine generator) and air quality controls systems for the Lamu Coal Power Plant
Just last year the Chinese through China Power Global inked a Sh206 billion deal that was witnessed by President Uhuru Kenyatta in Beijing setting the stage for the geopolitical scramble for a piece of the investment.
After decades of shunning Africa and being overshadowed by the Chinese, American investment on Kenya’s infrastructure is heating up.
Just last year American contractor Bechtel Executive clinched the deal to build Sh300 billion expressway parallel to the Chinese Standard Gauge Railway that cost Kenya Sh327 billion.
Amu coal power plant falls in the Lamu Port South Sudan and Ethiopia Transport Corridor (Lappset) corridor where Americans have especially shown a lot of interest even as the Chinese started dredging the port with hope to reap huge from the Sh2 trillion project.
America’s Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) which mobilises private capital and invests in development projects to advance US foreign policy opened an office in Nairobi in September last year having already boosted their portfolio with a piece of the 310-megawatt project Lake Turkana Wind Power project in northern Kenya through a investment guarantee of up to Sh25 billion ($250 million).
