General Electric to Develop 1,000 Megawatts in Kenya

General Electric Co. is partnering with Kenyan government and industry to develop 1,000 megawatts of power in the East African nation and is in talks with Kenya Power Ltd. (KPLL) about a power-purchase agreement.

The power projects will probably be developed over five to 10 years, Jay Ireland, president and chief executive officer for Africa said in a phone interview. He didn’t give a price for the partnership in which his company will provide technology and equipment.

“We are in the process of working with Kenya Power to develop a power purchase agreement shortly,” he said. GE, as the company is known, in May signed an agreement with the government to develop power, rail, health care, aviation and training projects, he said.

Kenya plans to spend as much as $50 billion over the next 20 years to meet a 14 percent annual increase in electricity demand, according to the country’s Energy Regulatory Commission. Kenya, east Africa’s biggest economy, will need 16,905 megawatts annually by 2031 from 1,520 megawatts this year, the regulator said.

Read more about GE's plans in Kenya on Bloomberg BusinessWeek.