COP28: UK to invest Ksh.1B for solar irrigation, electric buses in Kenya
![COP28: UK to invest Ksh.1B for solar irrigation, electric buses in Kenya COP28: UK to invest Ksh.1B for solar irrigation, electric buses in Kenya](https://citizentv.obs.af-south-1.myhuaweicloud.com/114083/conversions/WhatsApp-Image-2023-12-05-at-13.04.49_7170d787-og_image.webp)
President William Ruto of Kenya (L) and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the United Kingdom meet at the COP27 summit in Egypt in November 2022. | PHOTO: FILE/British High Commission in Nairobi
The
United Kingdom is set to invest Ksh.1 billion ($7.1 million) for two projects
in Kenya as part of a wider package of green investment in Africa.
A
Tuesday statement from the British High Commission in Nairobi said the British
International Investment will announce a Ksh.321 million ($2.1 million)
investment to provide solar-powered and water-efficient irrigation systems to
9,000 farmers in Kenya.
The
project is set to help increase farmers' income as well as build their
resilience and adapt to the impact of climate change.
“The
upfront cost of the irrigation systems will also be reduced by 25-40% through
an innovative carbon credit facility, making the systems more affordable for
farmers,” the statement reads.
Meanwhile,
Ksh.765 million ($5 million) will go towards the manufacture of 100 electric
buses in Kenya to meet the local demand for affordable but clean public
transport.
“As
they replace diesel-powered polluters, they will stop 5,000 tonnes of CO2
entering the atmosphere every year,” added the statement.
The
UK has also supported the design and development of President William Ruto’s industrialisation
initiative for Africa, the Africa Green Industrialisation Initiative (AGII).
The
Ksh.12.5 billion Menengai Geothermal project – which is expected to generate
35MW of electricity, providing approximately 750,000 Kenyans with affordable,
clean energy and creating 200 jobs during construction, is proceeding to
financial close with construction expected to begin shortly after, the High
Commission said.
A
Ksh.31 billion agreement has also been reached with the Kenyan Development
Corporation and UK-funded investor United Green to establish an area “bigger
than Nairobi National Park” for climate-smart farming.
This,
the High Commission says, is expected to save Kenya $200m annually on food
imports and help reduce Kenya’s trade deficit.
The Nairobi
National Park sits on a 117-kilometre-squared track of land.
British
High Commissioner to Kenya, Neil Wigan, said the investment is a sign of the
strength of the UK-Kenya Strategic Partnership that these three projects have
reached new milestones by COP28.
“The
UK and Kenya are going far and going together. We are proud to support the
President’s AGII. Combined with these investments from British International
Investment, the UK and Kenya will deliver what Kenya’s people want - growth,
jobs and trade - in a way that is sustainable and protects our planet,” Wigan
noted.
The
latest developments are part of six deals agreed between President Ruto and UK
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt last year,
which total over Ksh.500 billion of investment.
The
UK-Kenya Strategic Partnership is a five-year agreement aimed at unlocking
mutual benefits for the UK and Kenya without “load[ing] Kenya with
unsustainable debt.”
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