Nyandarua leaders want Kinangop Wind Power deal reached

The community and political leaders in Nyandarua have made hasty retreat and are now seeking dialogue with investors behind the Kinangop Wind Power Park (KWP).

The investors announced on Monday that they would be pulling out of the Ksh 15 billion project, after community protests made near impossible to move construct the 61-megawatt wind farm.

The change in heart comes after farmers signed new lease agreements and were now ready to negotiate with the investors.

Of the 1,000 affected families, 840 of them signed the new agreement paving way for the investor to embark on the project that has stalled for years.

There is, however, apprehension as to whether the investor will return to the negotiating table after incurring huge costs from the delayed project.

Delays and hostilities from the community had seen the company incur huge operating costs. By the time of pulling out, KWP had sunk $66 million (Ksh 6.7 billion) with little results.

“Furthermore, due to the consequent material delay, project funds have been depleted and the project can no longer be completed by the shareholders,” Kinangop Wind Park Chief Executive Officer James Wakaba said earlier this week.

Area Member of Parliament Stephen Kinyanjui was however reading from a different script saying he had not received any official communication from the investor that he wanted to pull out adding that all the grievances raised had been sorted.

“We are keenly watching so see what move the investor takes as all the demands he had placed on the table have been met,” he said.

The government has already raised concern that land squabbles and rising land prices were becoming a major deterrent for investors with capital-intensive projects.

Since 2013 investors in the project, led by Norwegian private equity firm Norfund, have been unable to go ahead with the construction of the wind farm leading to the withdrawal from the project.