NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 5 – Rasli Bahari Kenya Limited (RBKL) is set to construct a Sh103.3 billion desalination plant in Lamu in a bid to ease the chronic water shortage in Kenya’s coastal region.
The Public Private Partnership (PPP) project, structured with a 30:70 equity-to-debt ratio, will be rolled out in three stages: receipt and evaluation, project development, and final negotiation and execution.
“The project aims to address the region’s acute water shortage by providing a long-term, reliable source of clean water for domestic and industrial use, thereby supporting socio-economic growth and improving quality of life,” RBKL said in a statement.
Coastal counties such as Mombasa, Kilifi, and Kwale frequently face water deficits due to climate change, population pressure, and inadequate infrastructure. Mombasa, for example, receives just 48 million litres of water per day — far below its daily demand of 200 million litres.
Desalination, which involves removing salt and impurities from seawater, is increasingly being adopted globally to address similar challenges.
Countries like Morocco, Namibia, and the United Arab Emirates have turned to the technology to boost water security. Namibia’s Erongo Desalination Plant has supplied over 123 million cubic meters of safe drinking water since 2010, while Morocco aims to produce over 1.7 billion cubic meters of fresh water from desalination by 2030.
RBKL’s project is expected to position Kenya among countries leveraging desalination to meet the water needs of growing populations and industries in arid and coastal areas.
