The Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA), managed by the African Development Bank, has approved a grant of Ksh 10 million (US$ 995,000) to Asticom Kenya Ltd to support the construction of a 10 megawatt (MW) grid-connected municipal waste-to-energy (WTE) plant.
The grant will fund the cost of conducting a full environmental and social impact assessment, detailed engineering designs, and provide project-related legal advisory services, as well as financial/transaction advisory services.
The project will be located in Kibera, Nairobi, and will generate electricity from municipal solid waste by converting them to biogas/ fuel ethanol. The planned diversion and use of municipal solid waste will have significant health, social and development outcomes, and will be of benefit to the inhabitants of Kibera− a community that receives 1,000 tons of municipal solid waste daily from the Nairobi County.
For instance, local dwellers will be contracted in the sorting of the municipal waste, thereby providing them with additional employment and income.
The project aligns with the Bank’s High 5 development priorities and in particular, the agenda to Light up and Power Africa, the 10-Year Strategy, the Private Sector Development Strategy (2013-2017), the Energy Sector Policy 2012, and the New Deal on Energy for Africa. It is also in line with Kenya’s National Development Plan and the African Development Bank’s Country Strategy Paper (CSP) for Kenya, which prioritises the ‘enabling of physical infrastructure to unleash inclusive growth.’
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