KPLC to pay more for Mumias power supply

The project partners will also be required to file annual environmental audits to ensure compliance besides maintaining a clear buffer zone between the sugar plantation and the water bodies.

A strategic plan on the proposed Tarda project showed that it would be irrigation-driven unlike the predominant rain fed farming in the country’s sugar industry. The irrigation-based production offers huge advantages including faster cane maturity and higher sucrose content. Sucrose is the substrate from cane juice that is refined into various products.

The project is also designed to rely on a nucleus estate that is expected to take up the bulk of the 16,000 hectares. Most millers in Kenya rely on small scale out-grower farmers for cane supplies, a situation that has worked against efficiency.

A nucleus system is also considered advantageous because it allows for planning and a steady supply of uniform quality cane.

At full capacity, the planned sugar facility will host a power generation plant and engage 30,000 people in either direct or indirect employment.