GOVERNMENT ROLLS OUT SOLAR PLANT TO CUT BARICHO WATER POWER COSTS

The government is constructing a multi-million-shilling solar power plant at the Baricho Water Works in Kilifi County in a major effort to reduce the high cost of pumping water to Kilifi and Mombasa counties. The project is being implemented by the Coast Water Works Development Agency (CWWDA) with funding from the World Bank under the Water and Sanitation Development Project (WSDP). It is expected to significantly lower electricity bills, which currently range between Sh60 million and Sh70 million per month. CWWDA project coordinator Engineer David Kanui said the agency has long struggled with soaring power costs due to heavy reliance on grid electricity to pump water from boreholes and lift it over long distances to consumers.