The agreement will see Liquid Telecom’s Kenyan unit upgrade fibre connections in Kenyan areas already connected to KETRACO’s national grid with high voltage lines of 132kV and above.
It will also look at expansion options to remote areas of the East African country, as well as neighbouring coutries including Ethiopia, South Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi, according to reports in Kenya.
The deal follows a tender process launched by KETRACO after it was granted a Network Facility Provider Tier 2 (NFPT2) licence in 2014. The deal is reportedly worth 618 million kenya shilling (£4.5 million), according to Business Daily Africa. Under the deal, KETRACO will earn 40% of the revenue while Liquid Telecom retains the rest.
KETRACO runs a 1,791.5 km electricity transmission network in Kenya and by 2020, it will have completed construction of over 8,000 km of high voltage lines with concurrent fibre connectivity.
The deal will also see KETRACO using 2% of its fibre capacity for its own communication tools, which include monitoring its own power systems, as well as alarms and equipment status.
