The Kenyan government plans to construct a Ksh375 billion gas-powered electricity plant at Dongo Kundu in Mombasa to boost national power supply. The project will rely on imported liquefied natural gas and support the Vision 2030 goal of clean energy production. Energy experts note the urgent need for more capacity amid economic growth and demands from large projects like data centres.
The Kenyan government is set to develop a Ksh375 billion gas-powered electricity plant at Dongo Kundu in Mombasa, aligning with the Vision 2030 objective of achieving fully clean energy. The facility aims to generate 1,200 megawatts, with the Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KENGEN) playing a lead role alongside strategic partners after finalizing financial and technical arrangements.
Sources indicate the plant will depend on imported liquefied natural gas, given Kenya's lack of sufficient domestic reserves for large-scale power production. Energy Principal Secretary Alex Wachira stated that the country requires an additional 300 megawatts before 2027 and another 300 megawatts by 2028 to meet growing demands from economic expansion and industrial growth. "We urgently need about 300 megawatts before 2027 and an additional 300 megawatts by 2028," he emphasized.
President William Ruto pointed out that Kenya's existing capacity of roughly 3,000-3,300 megawatts falls short, particularly for powering initiatives like data centres that consume 1,000 megawatts each. He advocated for expanding generation to 10,000 megawatts within five years to foster industrialization. The initiative also includes phasing out or converting heavy fuel oil plants to run on cleaner liquefied natural gas by the decade's end.
The Dongo Kundu project follows delays in prior gas efforts, such as the 2015 Qatar Gas agreement, the Mombasa LNG Terminal feasibility study from 2021 to 2024, and the Kenya Pipeline Company's LNG/LPG storage initiative from 2023 to 2024. It will test the viability of future energy developments in Kenya.
This comes after the recent Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) initial public offering, which sold a 65 percent stake, was oversubscribed by 105.7 percent, raised about Ksh106.3 billion (USD823 million), and marked the largest IPO since 2008, with trading starting on March 10, 2026.
