Meridiam and Vinci sign concession contract for Nairobi – Nakuru – Mau Summit Highway in Africa

This 1.3 billion euro project, which is a 50/50 partnership with Vinci Concessions, is one of the largest Public Private Partnership projects in East Africa. It calls for the design, financing, widening and renovation work, operation and maintenance of the new 175-km highway for 30 years.

This new strategic infrastructure for Kenya will enhance the economic and social development of the entire country and the region’s connectivity. Safety and traffic conditions will also be improved, reducing traffic congestion and environmental pollution on this major Kenyan roadway. This road is particularly used to transport goods imported into Kenya via the port of Mombasa to neighboring countries such as Uganda and South Sudan.

This contract illustrates Meridiam’s commitment to Kenya, which began in 2016 with Alan Munuya, the company’s Kenyan Country Manager for East Africa.

In Africa, Meridiam has already enabled the financing and development of major infrastructure projects in less than four years in the areas of energy transition, mobility of goods and people, and social issues for a total amount of more than 4 billion euros, including:

• 4 solar power plants in Senegal for a total of 140 MWp. Two of them are part of the Scaling Solar initiative, jointly led by the Senegalese authorities and the International Finance Corporation (IFC, member of the World Bank Group) in Senegal. These projects offer some of the lowest tariffs in Africa (€4 cts/kWh) and meet the challenges of access to clean and low-cost electricity for local populations.
• The Tulu Moye geothermal power plant. With a final capacity of 150 MW, this is the first IPP (Independent Power Producer) in Ethiopia.
• The mineral port of Owendo in Gabon and the container port of Nouakchott in Mauritania, two strategic projects aimed at diversifying national economies and massively developing logistics capacities.
• The Biokala biomass power plant in Côte d’Ivoire, the largest biomass power plant in Sub-Saharan Africa. Fueled from agricultural waste, it will meet the electricity needs of the equivalent of 1.7 million people per year. A true source of a circular and inclusive economy, this project will create 1,500 jobs and save 180,000 tons of CO2 per year.
• The work to rehabilitate and extend Madagascar’s two main airports will increase passenger capacity and local economic development by 50%.
• NEoT Offgrid Africa (NOA), a joint venture launched in 2017 by Meridiam, EDF and Mitsubishi Corporation dedicated to the development of distributed energy projects in Africa (notably domestic solar installations and mini-grids).

Photo credits Nick115@pixabay