Kenya Power workers fix concrete power transmission poles in Iten, Elgeyo-Marakwet County.
A Chinese firm and Rai Cement are among the biggest beneficiaries of contracts to supply concrete poles to Kenya Power, new disclosures revealed, firming a run of deals bagged from the utility firm.
Latest filings by the electricity distributor show that Bett Company [K] Limited, which is owned by China’s ZHAI Yan Quan and Yang Yi and linked to Beijing Electric Power Transmission & Transformation Company Limited will supply concrete poles to Kenya Power in a Sh192,166,760 contract which runs to July 6, 2025.
Another company Line Enterprises Company Limited, which is co-owned by businesswomen Susan Njeri Macharia and Wangui Kimathi has been awarded a deal to supply Kenya Power with concrete poles worth Sh174,410,640 in a deal that runs to June 6, 2025.
Rai Cement, which is owned by Sarbjit Singh Rai, Rajbir Singh Sarbjit Singh Rai and Amaanraj Singh Rai, will supply concrete poles in a Sh118,625,080 contract runs to July 7, 2025.
Other big beneficiaries of the Kenya Power concrete pole contracts are Makuyu Concrete Products Limited (Sh103,008,000) and Meru Supreme Industries Limited(Sh67,946,420).
The new contract adds to a list of deals by Rai Cement to supply concrete poles to Kenya Power. For example, in 2020 Rai Cement won a contract to deliver concrete poles valued at Sh70.13 million while its sister company Timsales Limited won a deal to supply wooden poles worth Sh112.87 million.
The concrete pole supply contracts come as Kenya Power rolls out a series of customer connectivity projects including one financed through a Sh1.85 billion grant by the Japanese government through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica).
In the Jica venture, Kenya Power in July revealed that some 9,121 households in four counties would be connected to the national grid.
This will mark the fifth phase of the Last Mile Connectivity Project (LMCP), which is being implemented by the majority State-owned firm, with households in Nakuru, Kilifi, Kwale, and Nyandarua counties set to benefit.
The Jica grant came two months after Kenya Power signed 26 contracts at State House Nairobi to implement the fourth phase of the project.
This phase, which will cost Sh27 billion, is being funded by the French Development Agency, the European Union, and the European Investment Bank. It will connect a total of 280,000 new customers to the grid by November 2025.
